


A Song of Fire and Ice

by cherrishish



Series: Otherworldly adventures [2]
Category: Frozen (2013), Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Betrayal, Drinking, Drunken Flirting, Drunken Shenanigans, Female Edward Elric, Fire Alchemy, Gen, Ice Alchemy, Military, Misunderstandings, Morning After, Multi, No recollection of drunken shenanigans, Secret Wedding, What the hell did just happen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2016-07-13
Packaged: 2018-07-18 19:21:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7327138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherrishish/pseuds/cherrishish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An unexpected incident calls the Flame Alchemist to investigate the Northern mountains near Briggs, where he stumbles upon the Snow Queen. What could possibly go wrong? Set in my fem!Ed AU, but no Fullmetal appearance in this one, at least directly. Slight Royai.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mission briefing

**Author's Note:**

> When you have certain dreams with certain anime characters you know you are obsessed beyond saving… I am... well... beyond saving, but that is beside the point.  
> Don't mind my Game of Thrones-themed title… it just happened to fit the story. This is actually an FMAB and Frozen crossover. Although set in my usual fem!Ed AU, no Fullmetal in this one, just Roy and his team with their usual shenanigans… Set somewhere after my story 'Predicament' I guess, but still before the start of the canon main story of FMAB, Ed is off wherever doing whatever with Al, not important in terms of this story…  
> Anyway… let's get started :D

Colonel Roy Mustang was sitting in his Eastern Command Center office at his desk reading over the latest report regarding Fullmetal's activities in these past few weeks. His brows were sternly furrowed through most of it but sometimes disappeared under his raven-haired bangs due to his surprise at the utter and complete ridiculousness of the things his youngest subordinate was capable of doing under the guise of an official military mission. A path of destruction followed in her wake usually.  _There went my budget up in flames again…_  Of course, it was always her superior's, aka  _his_ , responsibility to take care of it… Roy always made a point of telling the blonde off whenever he set his eyes on her.  _Money doesn't grow on trees you know!_

At least he could always get a kick out of teasing her, about her height mostly, and as of recently – when they were strictly between themselves – her gender, and although he would never reveal her secret to others without her permission on purpose, it was just  _way_  too much fun to hang it over her head like the sword of Damocles. Unfortunately ever since finding out her identity he only had one chance to actually utilize this key piece of knowledge as the Fullmetal Alchemist was blissfully swamped with a myriad of missions and leads on the Philosopher's Stone and away from East City most of the time.

Sighing heavily he set the expense report down and signed off on it, putting it in the slowly – very,  _very_  slowly – growing pile of finished paperwork. Just then there was a light knock on the door and his trusted subordinate, Lt. Hawkeye stepped into the inner office.

"Sir, General Grumman has requested an urgent meeting with you at eleven hundred hours," she informed in her usual sharp and professional attitude. Her brown eyes were always a source of wonder for the Colonel, they told so much more than her words ever conveyed. At this moment in time though it was clear that his subordinate had no clue as to the reason for this unexpected summoning.

Glancing up at the clock Mustang saw that it was 10:54.

"That's awfully short notice," he frowned but got up from his desk anyway. The old general wouldn't have called upon him if it wasn't vital. Their more leisurely meetings that usually involved chess were always arranged well ahead of time. "Thank you, Lieutenant," Roy said nodding to her as he passed by her at the door and made his way towards the hallway.

In a very stiff, military fashion the Colonel strolled down the halls quickly towards his CO's office, knocking briefly before entering. Grumman's secretary just smiled at him gesturing for him to go right in.

"You called, Sir!" Mustang saluted and greeted the General as he entered the office.

"At ease, Colonel, have a seat," Grumman motioned with an unreadable smile towards the chair in front of his desk.

The raven-haired officer sat down uneasily, quite frankly eager to find out why he was called in. Sort of like when you get summoned to the principal's office at school. It usually wasn't a good sign. But he waited patiently for the older man to reveal his intentions at his own pace.

"You must be wondering why I asked for you so suddenly…" the General began twirling his overly large grey mustache between his left thumb and index finger. A nervous habit Roy knew Grumman had, so whatever the old man was about to say had to be something serious. "I was wondering… When are you going to finally marry my granddaughter?" he asked in an overly sweet, high-pitched voice no one would ever think was possible from an old man's mouth.

Mustang's eyes went wide in complete and utter shock and – let's be honest – disappointment, at which his CO chuckled lightly, seemingly enjoying a private joke.

"To be more serious," Grumman switched to his professional, unfazed gaze. "There is a potential international incident that the Führer personally requested you to handle," he added handing the Colonel the file containing the information.

Snapping out of his dumbfounded daze, Roy quickly took the materials given to him and scanned over the brief summary at the beginning.

"An ice castle appeared overnight in the Briggs mountain range just over our border?" Mustang asked in astonishment, doubting the source of the intel.

"Yes, it seems. Central suspects alchemical involvement," Grumman amended contemplatively.

"With all due respect, Sir, shouldn't someone closer to the site investigate it?" Roy inquired, his concerns wholly founded and shared by his superior too, given that the lack of field knowledge of the area would be a considerable hindrance.

Not to mention that Mustang absolutely despised everything wet, and snow was just a slightly colder rain in his mind, so he always avoided the northern regions whenever possible, but the Flame Alchemist was explicitly requested by the highest ranking man of the country.

"King Bradley seems to think that ice should be countered with flames. View it as an opportunity," Grumman smiled at his subordinate mischievously, being well aware of his ambitions even if not the full extent of them. "All the details should be in the file, you can take your team and any additional manpower you deem necessary for the mission just let me know the details. Dismissed."

"Yes, Sir!" Mustang saluted again as he stood up. Spinning around his heel, he marched out of the office to go back to his own.

* * *

"How did it go, Sir?" Riza asked Mustang the minute he walked in with that manila folder under his arm and a troubled expression on his face.

She wasn't worried that it was anything serious in terms of something that would be threatening towards the status of her superior, because she was sure that Grumman would have at least warned her or hinted at something beforehand. She  _was_  his granddaughter after all even if it was a highly unpublicized fact. Of course, Mustang knew nothing about this either – at least as far as Riza could ascertain, but given that Madame Christmas, Roy's aunt, and foster mother, was close with Grumman you could never know – since the familial connection was from her mother's side. Hawkeye had only recently been reunited with him anyway, well after her father's death and the time when Roy spent most of his days at their house as Bertold's apprentice.

"We have an assignment…" he began to brief his team when his phone at his desk started ringing. "I will explain in a second."

Frowning, he went to pick it up. There were only a handful of people who knew his direct extension, most calls usually came through the outer office and were patched in by Hawkeye.

"Colonel Mustang," he answered it in a severe tone.

"Oi, Roy! How's it going?" came the overly cheerful voice through the receiver that could only belong to a certain way-too-nosy-for-his-own-good intelligence officer from Central, which made Roy sigh exasperatedly.

"What do you want, Hughes?" Mustang asked in an annoyed tone. "I'm kinda busy."

Most of the time this was a convenient excuse to get out of the hours-long rant about his wife and daughter, but in this instance, there was actually a foundation for his claim.

"I know, I know, you gotta leave for North soon," the Lt. Colonel agreed with a hum. Roy rolled his eyes.  _Of course_ , Maes would know about the mission before he himself who was assigned to it was even briefed. "That's why I wanted to make sure to call you and tell you about Elicia before you left for who knows how long and then you would have to miss out on her latest milestones. She is already two can you imagine? She is just so adorable! She is talking more and more, Elicia is seriously a genius, her vocabulary grows by the day…" he ranted on without checking if anyone was actually listening on the other side.

"Go bother someone who actually cares!" Roy got finally fed up in the middle of the monologue and slammed the phone down with a little bit more force than necessary.

In reality, he adored his friend from Central very much, but it took a whole different kind of patience when he went on his spiel about his family.

Then the phone rang again. With a groan, Mustang picked it up because even though he was almost positive it was Maes again, you never knew…

"Colonel Mustang," Roy spoke professionally into the receiver.

"Oi, we got disconnected!" Hughes jovially replied, purposefully ignoring the fact that it was  _totally_  intentional on the onyx-eyed man's part.

"Hughes, I really can't talk right now," the Colonel huffed full of annoyance.

"About that mission," Hughes turned serious in that instant. "We just received intel that someone was spotted around that castle when it sprung from the earth yesterday late afternoon near our border with Arendelle. To be precise a blond woman. It seems she was alone, but the locals didn't dare to approach to investigate further. There was no activity spotted in the area after that, and it is highly unlikely that the person in question left the site since. You guys should be careful, if this was truly the work of one individual, then she is a highly capable alchemist, and we know nothing of her intentions."

"Thanks," Roy muttered, kind of dumbfounded by the sudden change in attitude, although he should have gotten used to it by now.

"Sooooo, when are you going to settle down and get a nice wife for yourself? Marriage is good for your health you know!" and he was back to his usual obnoxious self just as fast.

"Bye!" the Colonel slapped the receiver down again. Of course, everyone in the office was witness to the exchange as the door stood a little ajar given that he never closed it behind himself.

"Please don't damage military property, Sir," Hawkeye admonished him with a slight shake of her head.

As Riza was still sitting at her desk and not reaching for her gun, Roy knew he wasn't in any real trouble. The Lieutenant knew full well that the Lt. Colonel's calls always elicited some similar reaction from her CO, so she wasn't all that surprised.

Roy sighed and sat down to read the rest of the details in the file. It seemed that Hughes's intel was more up to date than what was known when the order was issued, which kind of made up for that whole ordeal on the phone. The folder also contained some basic information on Arendelle – that quite frankly he already knew from his days at the military academy – in case there really was a need for a diplomatic intervention as well. At this point in time, it wasn't determined yet if someone from Amestris had ventured too close to the border to play ice alchemist or someone from the neighboring country had breached their perimeter.

Arendelle was practically a city-state a bit farther into the Drachman territory, with only a thin strip of land connecting it to Amestris. As they were a peaceful nation with good trade relations with both Drachma and Amestris, neither really bothered with conquering it due to its minuscule territory and lack of resources. It was a monarchy, ruled by Queen Elsa, whose coronation according to the intel was just yesterday. Joyous news after the extended period that the country had had to endure without a ruler given that the then princess's parents died when Elsa and her younger sister were still children, and the parliament had taken over the governing duties until the older princess came of age. And that was all.  _Was all this a coincidence?_ The Colonel didn't think so.

Mustang really wished there was more information that they could actually go on regarding the mission. Contact information and name of the ambassador, if there was one, or any diplomat who was authorized to make decisions, customs of the royal court, required etiquette, the current state of their diplomatic affairs… anything that would help to clear this up if there  _was_  an international incident, but nothing of that sort was included.

When he looked up after studying every information carefully, Roy noticed that Riza glanced at him at the same time, so he motioned for her to come in with everyone else.

"As I mentioned before, we have a new mission that will take us to the North, east of Fort Briggs actually, to our border with Arendelle. Last evening an ice castle sprung from the earth, presumably the work of an alchemist. The situation is very sensitive given that we have no idea which side of the border the incident was initiated from, nor about the intentions of the individual behind it. Our job is to investigate and handle it accordingly, be it an internal or diplomatic issue. All of you are coming with me," he first addressed the whole team, briefing them in his most authoritative voice that he only used in situations like these and which always made everyone snap to attention at once, then gave out their individual orders.

"Lt. Hawkeye after this, speak with General Grumman with the information on what we need and contact North City and Fort Briggs to request their assistance. We will need an escort who is familiar with the field, preferably an alchemist, if possible with diplomatic ties to Arendelle or knowledge on their customs, anything. We would also like the support of the Briggs scouting team in terms of intel from the field."

"2nd Lt. Breda make arrangements for our travels. There should be a military supply train if I'm not mistaken northbound in the coming days, if not we will go by a civilian train, although that will take much longer. When done with that sketch out the possible scenarios of the situation and prepare a plan on how to deal with each."

"2nd Lt. Havoc and Sergeant Fuery compile an inventory and make the necessary preparations with North City and Fort Briggs for the equipment and weaponry we would need for the mission both reconnaissance and a potential military intervention."

"Warrant Officer Falman find out anything and everything you can about Arendelle by the time we leave and report back to me on the train. Any questions?"

Havoc raised his hand like there were in a classroom or something.

"Chief, why were we dispatched exactly? There are plenty of alchemists in North City too, who would be capable of handling the situation," Jean asked as he scratched his head in confusion.

"They just couldn't resist the charms of the Flame Alchemist in Central," Roy shrugged in an overly smug way that made Hawkeye groan in frustration and shake her head. "Anyway, get to work everyone, time is of the essence."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I hope the whole military mumbo jumbo for the preparations and what would possibly be in a briefing file are not too out there to be unrealistic. I have no idea what goes on in the military but just tried to imagine what kind of roles Roy would assign to his various team members based on their specific talents.


	2. Loneliness

_Meanwhile in the Briggs mountain range near the Amestris-Arendelle border…_

Standing alone on her balcony, a young maiden with beautiful silvery blond hair and icy blue eyes overlooked the mountain range before her. There was not a soul around, only the snowy peaks. Everything surrounding her was made of ice. The balcony, the castle that belonged to her, even the dress she wore. And it was all made by her.

She didn't mind the solitude, she had lived almost her whole life in that one room in the royal palace of Arendelle in fear that she would hurt her sister again with her damned ice-based magic, that she had no control over. Here in this place, she didn't have to fear that. In fact, right at that moment, she didn't fear anything, just basked in the cold morning air that no one besides her would have been able to enjoy without bundling up in multiple layers of clothing.

Yesterday she fled from her castle, her people, her new role of being queen. They were better off this way, she believed. Well not just them. Finally, she was able to let go for once. Fondly she thought about the events of the previous day…

_In the deserted mountain range, Elsa walked toward the highest peak visible in the distance. Sadness and loneliness filled her heart that stemmed from the misunderstanding and hate that was shown towards her in her homeland. She was a freak. An uncontrollable monster. A menace. That's what people were whispering about her behind her back. Just because she was different. As to comfort herself, she began to sing to herself._

_At first, the song was more of a tribute to self-pity and wallowing, but somehow in the midst of it, she found the empowerment that she so lacked in her previous life. Realizing her own potential, she began to test out the powers that she had worked so hard to keep contained so far._

_Running forward with her new found freedom she reached a rift. Instead of becoming intimidated, she created a beautiful ice bridge to the other side. It was an isolated peak, that wasn't accessible by foot or ordinary means from either side, just by the stairs she had just created. A bold idea popped into her mind, and she started to put it into motion instantly, erecting a huge ice palace._ This will be my new home… _she thought._ The cold never bothered me anyway…

* * *

_East City_

A few minutes after the briefing Hawkeye came back into Roy's office and dropped off a massive pile of paperwork on the Colonel's desk. He raised a brow at his subordinate.

"We are swamped with the preparations, Sir, so please take care of it by the end of the day," she remarked nonchalantly, but her gaze made Mustang think better of protesting.

Dejectedly Roy muttered something under his breath and got to it before his subordinate could threaten him with something else than her eyes.

It was well into the night by the time he was finished, and everyone from his team had already gone home to get some shut-eye before their departure. The miracle workers that they were, everything was sorted in record time. There was a supply train leaving East City at four in the morning, so Mustang decided that instead of going home he was going to take a stroll then head straight for the train station. He knew full well that the Lieutenant had a spare key and would go by his apartment to pack and collect some clothes for what he would need besides the uniforms if she didn't find him there. That's just how she was. He never asked her to do this, it would have been highly inappropriate in their delicate professional relationship, yet she would anyway.

The nightlife wasn't nearly as busy as in Central, but given that it was a Friday, or almost Saturday, quite a few young people and couples roamed the streets in hopes of finding some entertainment. Roy stood out like a sore thumb in his military uniform, but he didn't care.

Reaching the central park of the city, he sat down on a bench and observed the people passing by. Sometimes he wondered what his life would have been if he never learned flame alchemy and committed those horrible things in Ishbal. Or if Hawkeye never joined the military and witnessed the things he did. Would he and Riza have met or reconnected somewhere else? Would they have been able to be together? Would they be like one of the many couples that passed by him that night?

Ever since he first laid eyes on her, he knew that he was utterly and irrevocably in love with her, but fate always played a cruel joke of some sorts on them that made it absolutely impossible for this to ever come to fruition. First Bertold and his rules around the house. Then the military and the anti-fraternization laws. Coupled with their sins that made both of them feel unworthy of such happiness to be bestowed upon them, even if the military were to relent on their regulations.

Although the lieutenant swore to follow him to the depths hell and back if that was what's needed to redeem themselves, he was never quite sure if this sense of loyalty was anything more than that. Hawkeye was always way too professional to ever show any signs of it being otherwise, yet still, sometimes Roy couldn't help but hope a little bit that his feelings were reciprocated.

Even after everything that he did, trust was never questioned between them. That fateful day when the war ended, and Riza asked the unthinkable of him, to use his alchemy to burn away that wretched tattoo with which Bertold entrusted his research to his daughter, was more than enough evidence.

Roy knew he shouldn't be thinking of such things before a critical mission. He needed to be focused. Fishing out his pocket watch he glanced at the time. It was two in the morning already. With a heavy sigh, he got up from his place and strolled towards the train station which was about a half an hour of brisk walk away. He could wait out the rest there, and if he was lucky, the train would already be at the platform.

He took his time though and – when he finally got there – to his great surprise Hawkeye was already on the platform, just as the train pulled in, hers and his bags by her legs. She was standing with her back to him, looking to her left at nothing in particular it seemed. She was in her uniform and her hair held up by that clip as she usually wore it. The streetlamp cast a circle of light to where she was standing, illuminating her blond hair, which made an illusion of a halo around her head.  _Angel with a shotgun… or a sniper rifle in her case…_  – Roy mused, the thought coming unbidden to his mind.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked as he approached, causing her to turn fully towards him.

"Figured you wouldn't have time to go home, Sir. I took the liberty of preparing a bag for you," she replied, dodging his question entirely.

"Very thoughtful, doesn't explain why you are here this early for the train," Roy chuckled a bit.

"Just making sure you wouldn't do something stupid out of boredom, Sir," Riza commented in a flat tone although the hint of teasing, that probably no one else would have noticed, didn't pass by Mustang's attention.

"Do I look like Fullmetal to you?" he smirked at her lopsidedly. Most women would have swooned by the look he gave her alone. He had his boyish charms if he wanted to. But of course, the Lieutenant, thoroughly used to his antics, was unfazed.

"With all due respect, Sir, you are way worse than him sometimes," she continued their banter, unaware of Ed's real gender of course.

"You wound me, Lieutenant," he countered playfully, dramatically grabbing at his heart.

To any onlooker from the outside this would have seemed like a casual, good-humored jabbing between superior and subordinate off duty, but to Roy, it was much more than that. He liked to imagine that this was their way of flirting with each other, oh so carefully staying within the boundaries set out by the military.

"Oi, Chief, Lieutenant," Havoc greeted them with a wave as he arrived with his luggage thrown over his shoulder with one hand and a lit cigarette in his mouth.

"We might as well get on, Colonel, if we want the better compartments to ourselves since two other teams seem to be taking the train too, headed to Central," Hawkeye informed them as she reached down for her own bag and left off to climb the few steps into the wagon.

The two men soon followed her suit, finding her in one of the two compartments at the front of the train that had cushioned seats, instead of the bare wooden ones. Breda, Fuery, and Falman arrived soon after too, finding them with no trouble, all aware of the Colonel's preferences on military trains. Light chatter and joking broke out between his underlings, but Mustang just stared out the window deep in thought as the train slowly gained momentum as it left the station.

"How long is the trip?" Fuery asked innocently, given that he never had to venture up to the North before.

"We should reach North City around four in the afternoon since we are only stopping in Central. Then another two hours to Briggs," Breda replied glancing up from yesterday's paper that he wasn't able to read yet due to the sudden change in the day's routine.

Hawkeye watched his superior, trying to figure out what could be running through his mind. He was acting a bit a weird, to tell the truth. Riza knew that he would have had plenty of time to go back home to pack after finishing at the office. She checked back there before going to his apartment, and she was told by the guards that he left around 11:30 PM, yet when she went to his residence at two, to make sure that he didn't oversleep, he was nowhere to be found.

"You should get some sleep, Sir," Hawkeye commented. Everyone else on the team should have had at least four hours of sleep before coming, but she knew full well that most of them would doze off in the coming hours anyway.

"Sure thing," he mumbled still staring out the window, but scooted a bit down in his seat, crossing his arms in front of his chest. A few minutes later he closed his eyes to appease his subordinate, but sleep didn't come. The images of happy couples still haunted him.

Soon the noise level in the compartment died down, and the lights were turned off so that they could rest a bit before the rays of dawn would inevitably wake them again. Roy waited another half an hour, making sure that no one was awake then slipped out of the compartment to get some fresh air. He was never able to sleep on trains anyway.

Walking over to the door that led to the little platforms connecting the two wagons he welcomed the slight breeze of fresh air. Sometimes he envied Havoc for having the perfect getaway excuse of going out for a smoke. No one would be the wiser if something else was on his mind. With Roy, it would catch everyone's attention at once.

He leaned on the railing, watching the dark scenery that passed by them. It was a clear night, and having left the city behind, with no light contamination all the stars were visible in the sky, like millions and millions of little glowing holes on a deep blue, almost black canvas.

"Colonel?" a female voice brought him out of his musings. Mustang turned around and saw Hawkeye's questioning gaze on him.

"And here I thought I could sneak away…" he chuckled a little.

"You know very well, Sir, no one can get past me, not even you," she commented casually as she joined him by the railing.

"I didn't mean to wake you," Roy apologized.

"You didn't," Riza sighed. This was a shared habit between them. The rattling of the train did nothing for either of them in terms of lulling them to sleep.

They stayed in silence, their shoulders brushing briefly sometimes with the movement of the train.  _That's all they will ever have. Stolen little moments like these,_ Roy thought.

"We should head back before they think that we snuck off together," Hawkeye said as she went to open the door again.

"Isn't that exactly what we did?" Mustang joked with feigned innocence.

"I think their imagination would conjure other kinds of activities,  _Sir_ ," she retorted flatly giving him a stern gaze.

After the light-hearted moment, somehow the Colonel miraculously was able to sleep a few hours until they reached Central at ten in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course the song was Let It Go by Idina Menzel, but I decided to spare everyone of the lyrics actually being put in the fic.


	3. From bad to worse

The stop at Central to load the train with the necessary supplies for Northern HQ and Briggs went without a hitch, thankfully, and they were able to depart without delay from the schedule. Although far from well rested, the Colonel spent the remaining hours of the trip looking over the information Breda and Falman had prepared for him, coupled with the ever-growing pile of reports that kept coming in through the day before regarding their mission.

To add to their troubles, the already sketchy situation with the possible border breach just went from bad to worse by a report that came in yesterday stating that the newly crowned queen went missing after the coronation banquette.  _This is just great…_ Mustang groaned inwardly.

"Everything alright, Sir?" Hawkeye glanced up from her batch of the reports.

"Have you seen page 2 of the 2100 update report yet?" the Colonel commented flatly.

"Not yet, Sir," she replied fishing out the aforementioned document immediately to see what had caught her superior's attention. She had just been leaving the office the day before when that particular report came in. It being late, she just photocopied and filed it away in their mission report folder to read on the train. When she finally saw that crucial piece of information, her eyes went wide, and she wished she had actually read it on the spot.

"Apologies, Colonel. I should have caught this yesterday and reported to you so that the contingency plans could be updated," Riza commented in her formal tone with a little sigh.

"You were still in at 9 PM?" Roy quirked a brow as he looked up from the papers in front of him.  _I thought I ordered you to go and get some sleep before the train…_  he wanted to add. Everyone else left around seven. Breda was the one assigned to round up any updates that arrived at the office before the train left.

"Yes, Sir," she answered as if it was nothing unusual. "Do you think these incidents could be related?" the Lieutenant asked after a second glance at the report.

Quickly catching on with their exchange Breda had already scanned over the information in question too and replied with his input.

"I think it's a high possibility. I mean what are the odds of the queen disappearing and in the same night there is a border breach with the neighboring nation. Question is, who is behind all this? Someone trying to instigate a war between our countries, trying to goad us into annexing them in the absence of their ruler? Or possibly they were the very ones behind her disappearance as well? Or maybe the new queen is not as sane as everyone liked to believe and went rogue, trying to provoke us?"

And that is why Roy loved his subordinates. They were like a well-oiled machine, the cogs already turning, trying to come up with something.

"We will just have to see what Briggs has for us once we get there. Their scouts are already out gathering intel by the border right?" the Colonel inquired with a pleased smirk.

"Yes, Sir, I talked with General Armstrong directly, we have her full support for the mission," Hawkeye replied.

"This is not the first time the queen, then crown princess went missing," Falman interjected as he remembered his research on the royal family of Arendelle and the court's customs. "Princess Elsa was abducted – presumably by Drachma, although this was never confirmed – then returned to her parents after two days without any demands made. The princess has lived a recluse life ever since. No one had seen her outside the palace after that. That is until her coronation day."

"How possibly could Amestris have information like that?" Mustang asked incredulously.

"We  _do_  have good trade relations with them, but that doesn't mean that we don't have spies. People talk, it goes into the rumor mill, then into our intelligence network," Falman shrugged.

"Drachma, huh?" the Colonel furrowed his brows. This could be bigger than anyone of them thought at first.

* * *

Despite it being July, chilly winter air hit them as they disembarked from the train at North City. Roy pulled his military overcoat closer around himself. It was always cooler in the north, but this was uncharacteristically cold for the city at this time of the year. At least it wasn't snowing. Here in the city that is, their latest weather report stated that there were snow storms in the mountains. Fortunately, they had two cars waiting for them to take them up all to way to Briggs. Two sharp-looking officers snapped themselves into salute once they saw the colonel's group.

"Sir, Major Eric Lander, and Sergeant Leona Piers, here to escort you to Fort Briggs," the male soldier introduced the pair of them.

"At ease, soldiers," Mustang returned their greeting. "Are you a good driver in the snow, Sgt. Piers?" Roy inquired from the female officer with a smirk. He had to admit that the Sergeant was pleasing to the eyes, even if redheads weren't exactly his thing. Her piercing green, almond-shaped eyes stood out against her pale, lightly freckled skin.

"Yes, Sir, I am," Leona answered warily but confidently, way too uncomfortable under the raven-haired man's gaze as she had no idea where he was going with the question, and quite frankly a bit offended that Mustang would question her capabilities the second they met.

"Good, then me, Lt. Hawkeye and 2nd Lt. Havoc will ride with Sgt. Piers. 2nd Lt. Breda, WO Falman and Sgt. Fuery will go with you, Major Lander," the Colonel instructed them.

"I apologize, Colonel Mustang, but I have direct orders from General Armstrong to have you ride in my vehicle," the Major motioned for the three of them to follow him, while the other half of the team was lead off by Piers.

"Of course you do," Mustang grumbled under his breath as he complied with the imposed arrangement. Hawkeye almost couldn't help the smile that was tugging at the corner of her lips at her superior's disappointment as they loaded their few pieces of luggage into the trunk of the car.

The drive was spent in relative silence, and with the currently clear weather, it was faster than expected. Once at the fort, they filed out, getting their bags and were surprised to find General Armstrong and Major Miles in the entrance lobby waiting for them.

"General Armstrong, such a pleasure to meet again," the Colonel started with the pleasantries but was cut off by the ice cold glare of the Northern Wall of Briggs.

"Cut the crap, Mustang, we have work to do," Olivier grabbed the sword in front of her that she was leaning on until now. "I had a conference room set up as mission headquarters, all the recent reports have been delivered there. Major Miles will show you to the rooms you can use as personal quarters for the stay then bring you to the conference room right away. An officer will always escort you wherever you go. I will not have the lot of you wandering off in my castle," she explained while she was already swiftly on the move towards the uniform grey hallways that made Briggs challenging to navigate like a maze.

To say that General Armstrong hated Mustang's guts was an understatement. They had met a few times during the joint military exercises over the years, and she always considered his quick rise in the ranks as a testament to his weaseling ways and Grumman's influence. She greatly despised this decision of Führer Bradley too, to put the Flame Alchemist in charge of this very delicate situation. If he were to screw this up, it could possibly mean war, which in the long run just meant more on her plate as the final defense line to the north.

"Understood, General," Mustang nodded, then he and his team followed the dark-skinned officer to the upper levels of the fort where their rooms were.

"Any noteworthy developments with the situation?" Roy asked their escort.

"No movements in the mountains since then. All intel reports that came in through Central are waiting for you in the conference room, and General Armstrong will be coming shortly to bring you up to speed on our end," Miles replied in a professional, detached manner.

It was sort of an open secret that one of the most trusted men of Olivier was one of Ishbalan heritage, and Roy knew these rumors could have meant no one else but the Major. Given his own reputation that he gained in the war, the slight animosity that he was feeling from the white-haired man was no surprise to Roy.

Within less than ten minutes, all six of them were in the make-shift mission command, reading over the latest reports. The Colonel could recognize Hughes's handwriting on some of them where he left side notes, it seemed specifically for him. So he was on the mission too from the intelligence department. That explained how he knew Roy was assigned to handle the situation. Mustang would have even gone as far as to guess that the Lt. Colonel had explicitly asked to be delegated to the mission when he found out that the Flame Alchemist was put in charge. That would be just like him, owning up to his promise to push Roy to the top.

"There is an update on the missing queen front," Breda cut the silence as he scanned through his share of the new intel.

"Really?" Mustang perked up.

"Apparently Queen Elsa fled the castle on her own will after nearly impaling her own sister and a few guests with icicles that she grew out of the ground," the 2nd lieutenant continued with the report.

"Arendelle's queen in an alchemist?" Roy raised an eyebrow at the news.

"The good people of Arendelle are calling her a witch, but yes it would seem she is. The thing is there were no reports of her drawing circles with chalk or anything else on the ground, neither did she clap her hands together like Fullmetal does before the supposed transmutation occurred," Breda finished with the summary of the report.

"Are you sure? Did we have a representative at the event? Or is this merely secondhand information from our spy network?" the Colonel was starting to get a bad feeling about this. The way this was beginning to look, it was a possibility that the Philosopher's Stone was involved in the equation too, and the Fullmetal Alchemist would want to know about it. Too bad, because Mustang can't have her and her explosive ways in the mix right now.

"Both. I have the summary of the report from our ambassador in Amestris in here as well, who was invited to the coronation. He stated that he has had some training in alchemy, even if he is not practicing it currently. He was positive that it was an alchemic reaction he saw and his account matches the other witnesses' that the queen suddenly sprung the ice forth after her sister accidentally took one of her gloves off."

"And we have an ice castle that grew out of the mountaintop overnight?" Mustang connected the dots of the puzzle that they had so far.

"You don't mean?" Hawkeye's eyes went wide as she realized the implications.

"Can you think of a better explanation?" Roy pointed out. Usually, the obvious answer was the right one. Lex parsimoniae. "Describe the queen to me."

"Blond, around 162 centimeters tall, blue eyes," Falman listed her characteristics.

"It fits so far. Hughes's initial report states a blond woman too. And we are looking for an alchemist. Who is in charge in Arendelle in the queen's absence?" he directed his question to Falman this time.

"I believe it would be her sister, she is next in line," the warrant officer replied based on his knowledge of the affairs of the small country.

"Well, then we have another situation. Princess Anna went after the queen when they realized that her alchemy – intentional or unintentional that is unclear – froze the harbor of the capital sending Arendelle into an ice age," Breda clarified as he read the report further.

"Then who the hell is in charge right now?" the Colonel burst out.

He wasn't sure how this country stayed afloat until now. The two princesses had the sense of responsibility of a pair of teenagers in his mind at the moment. Leaving the country to its fate the very day they officially were in charge of it. But thinking of it again that is precisely what they were. Way too young to rule over a nation, however small it may be.

"Prince Hans of the Southern Isles," the strategist informed him.

"The Southern Isles are a small chain of islands part of Aerugo. The title was given to the youngest of the thirteen princes," Falman amended. His encyclopedic knowledge coming in handy again.

"How did Aerugo come into the picture again?" Roy questioned incredulously. He was starting to get a headache.  _First Drachma, now this…_

"The prince is the fiancé of Princess Anna," Breda replied again reading from his report.

"The princess has a fiancé?" he directed his question to Falman, but he shook his head indicating that he knew nothing about it. "Why wasn't there anything about this in the initial report?"

"She met the prince at the ball. Apparently, the whole fiasco started when Princess Anna tried to get her sister's blessing to their engagement," Hawkeye replied this time as she had caught up with the report in question and read it further while the others had discussed the other points.

"I'm assuming Queen Elsa wasn't thrilled with her sister's plans," Roy sighed heavily.

Politically speaking it would have been a precarious move to marry off Princess Anna to Aerugo, given that Arendelle was wedged between two countries in practically open hostilities with each other, and Amestris was also practically at war with Aerugo. It just came with too many diplomatic issues that would have to have been thought over before officiating such nuptials.

"No, she wasn't," the Lieutenant confirmed.

"I have heard of alchemy getting out of hand because one's emotions weren't in check, but nothing of this magnitude," the Colonel rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You said Arendelle has practically frozen over. I think it's safe to assume that the unusual weather we are experiencing is a direct effect of that."

Colonel Mustang got up from his chair and began pacing the conference room.

"We don't really have much choice but go up to the border and: one, confirm that it's really the Queen of Arendelle in that ice palace…" he began listing the things they needed to get done. "Two, see if we can get to talk to her and assess what her intentions are. Three…"

Just then General Armstrong burst into the room.

"We have to move out now, there was activity spotted at the base of the mountain the ice palace is sitting on," the Ice Queen announced in a commanding voice.


	4. Runaway royalty

Reaching the ice castle was a greater challenge than any of them would have anticipated. A sudden snowstorm hit them not ten minutes after Mustang, his team and five of the Briggs scouts departed. They were stranded without any sense of direction for a good hour before the weather cleared enough to continue their journey. By the time they reached the base of the lone peak any and all traces of the trespassers were gone, buried under a meter of snow.

"Alright, Fuery report back to Briggs through the radio, then search the surrounding area for any evidence with Breda, Valman and the rest of the scouts. See if anyone saw anything from that village before the storm hit." – the Colonel gave his men their orders after a few moments of thinking in their given situation. – "Hawkeye, Havoc, you with me, we are going to climb up and investigate the ice palace."

Roy was perpetually alternating between wishing for Fullmetal being there with them and thanking the heavens that she was not involved in this mess. Ed's circleless alchemy and ability to lift them up with a boulder would have come in handy, but her auto-mail would have posed her a real danger of frostbite and even death, not to mention that she would have rushed on ahead, putting herself in danger if she thought the Philosopher's Stone was involved, which incidentally Mustang hadn't ruled out yet either.

That assessment was only deepened when after another hour of climbing they reached an ice staircase that connected to the palace over the gorge that separated the peak from the main body of the mountain.

The texture of the ice was flawless, not one you would expect from inexperienced alchemy users, especially if they were in emotional distress, which had been reported about Queen Elsa. Of course it was still a possibility that this was the work of an entirely different alchemist, but even Ed's transmutations tended to have mild reconstruction lines if she was in a hurry. And she _was_ considered a child prodigy and genius in alchemy.

The Colonel hand signed Hawkeye and Havoc to stay put until he tested the integrity of the bridge before they followed him. It was as sturdy as any contraption made out of ice could possibly be. As he was about to turn back to sign the all clear to his teammates, motion caught his attention at the corner of his eye.

What used to be a pile of snow, suddenly transformed into a massive golem-like ice creature. Roy barely had time to jump away from the swing of its arm that threatened to push him off the ledge. As he came out of the roll he did in the snow to break his fall, he snapped his fingers, only to realize that his gloves had been soaked through.

"Dammit." – the Colonel muttered under his breath, then the noise of gunshots rang through the air. – "No, stay back." – he yelled to his subordinates who had started to make their way over the ice bridge to assist him.

Somehow he managed to fumble his spare gloves out from the inside of his jacket while evading the monster and snapped again, now with dry ignition cloth on, the flames engulfing and turning it into a pool of water along with the surrounding snow, the black of the rock from beneath peeking through.

A few seconds later the golem just reappeared again from another pile, but Mustang was ready for it. While keeping the attacks at bay he glanced around frantically, trying to find the source of the alchemy.

"Your Majesty!" – the Flame Alchemist called to the figure hidden behind an opening high up in the castle, hoping very much that he was right in his assumptions. – "We are from the Amestris military, we just want to talk to you! Cease your attacks!"

The alchemy was absolutely incredible, as far as he could tell it worked on a similar molecular level like his own, manipulating the resonance rate and thus the temperature of the moisture in the air, the air itself being the conduit, enabling her to do it long distance. Still the sheer amount of material she moved… Roy had only seen Ed do something similar with statues. Those didn't move this fast, but you had to admit, they _were_ more solid to begin with. Even then, it seemed improbable that this was possible without the Philosopher's Stone.

There was a second of hesitation, allowing Mustang to continue in his persuasion.

"I'm Colonel Roy Mustang, we have been dispatched to investigate the border breach, please ma'am, allow us to speak with you. If your intentions are non-hostile towards our country, you have nothing to fear from us." – he motioned for Riza and Jean to lower their weapons that had been trained on the woman as a sign of good faith.

Elsa let the alchemic energy dissipate from her palms as she calmed herself, the golem collapsed and she disappeared from the window.

With a quick glance behind his back he noted that Hawkeye and Havoc had joined him on his side of the chasm and they made for the entrance together, still on high alert.

The inside of the palace was even more magnificent than the outside, frozen fractals adorned every surface in a way as if a skilled interior designer had fashioned the place. On top of a tall double staircase behind a huge frozen fountain stood a blond woman with striking ice blue eyes; very much like Olivier's, Roy had to admit. Her hair was in a loose side braid, and her dress seemed like it was made of ice, light blue and sparkling like diamonds in the light that filtered in. Although that was all she was wearing and the temperature inside the castle was exactly the same as outside she didn't seem cold at all.

"What border breach are you talking about?" – the woman spoke hesitantly, her eyes flicking between her visitors. She was clearly on edge, ready to crack at the slightest provocation.

"Queen Elsa, do I presume correctly?" – Mustang probed as he started to climb the stairs to meet her. She answered with a reluctant nod, frowning at him, clearly not agreeing with the title, but for all intents and purposes that was who she was. – "The castle we are in, is nigh few meters from the border between Arendelle and Amestris. Some supporting beams on the other side even pass over."

Panic set in on the face of the skittish ruler, this had been clearly new information to her.

"I didn't mean to… I didn't realize I ventured so far from the city." – Elsa implored, desperate for the representatives from their neighboring country to believe her. She had already messed up everything royally, she didn't need to unleash the wrath of Amestris on Arendelle too. They wouldn't survive it.

"I believe you, Your Majesty." – Roy inched another step closer with his hands up in front of him.

"No, don't come nearer!" – she cried out suddenly, hugging herself as she stepped back which seemed to have dropped the temperature in the room a few degrees lower, tiny snowflakes crystallizing in the air.

"I won't hurt you, I promise." – the Colonel assured her with a charming smirk. He could almost hear Hawkeye snort further behind him.

"I'm more worried about the other way around. I'm not in control." – Elsa looked at him bewildered, glancing then to the woman who was with him. She could see the protectiveness behind the fierce glare that the other blonde was giving her with her hazel brown eyes. The queen of Arendelle had no doubt that even though the gun was currently slack against her thigh, it would be trained on her, ready to be fired in less than a fraction of a second if she hurt her boss somehow.

"This palace and that golem outside beg to differ." – Mustang made conversation further. They needed more information. This situation was getting trickier by the minute. Bradley was right in sending an alchemist, but yet again he wondered if having Fullmetal here would have been more conducive.

"Sometimes, I freeze things even if I don't mean to." – she admitted with revulsion. This is why she left. She only hurt people. She deserved to be alone, where she was no threat to anyone.

"About that... Are you aware that the port in Arendelle froze over?" – Roy probed. That must have been unintentional too, this girl… woman seemed well intentioned, he could hardly imagine her doing harm to her own country on purpose.

"Anna said something similar." – Elsa admitted with sadness, guilt and regret.

"Your sister was here?" – the intel had been right, Princess Anna did come after her sister, but it seemed to no avail. She must have been the one reported to be lurking along the border. How did she get past the snow monster? Or was that a security measure Queen Elsa added after her departure?

"She wanted me to come back and undo it. But I can't." – she exclaimed in agitation again. She had hurt her yet again…

"Alright. When did you learn alchemy?" – the Flame Alchemist tried a different approach. Somehow he had to help her regain control.

"What?" – ice blue eyes looked at him in confusion. How was she able to perform alchemy without knowing about it? Although just because she was never thought the name of the process, she could be aware of the principles required.

"The thing you do. It's similar to mine. It's alchemy." – Roy snapped his finger bringing up a small fire above his fingers.

Elsa stood there mesmerized, watching the flame dance like a candle.

"I was taken by some men… we never found out who… when I was eight." – Else started tentatively. No one knew this story besides her parents, who were long dead, not even her sister. – "They did some weird experiment. There was this huge intricate circle on the floor that I had to touch. I found myself in a great white void, this faceless being there laughing at me. I saw some… incredible yet terrible things in there. Ever since then I can't feel…" – the queen looked down on her hands. – "I can't feel hot or cold. And could freeze the air. Anna, she enjoyed the winter wonderland that I used to create for her in the castle, but I accidentally hit her with a wave of ice and since then I can't control it. This castle was the first thing I ever did deliberately in years."

The words poured out of her, like a faucet that was suddenly broken. Meanwhile a terrible recognition set in for Mustang. The story felt all too similar to something Ed had told him years ago. That experiment must have been human transmutation no doubt about it. _Damn bastards, forcing a small child to do such a thing without her knowing the consequences._ They must have had given her some instructions on what to do but even then she must have a natural talent for it if she had survived.

There was some commotion outside the doors and Hawkeye went to investigate with Havoc, seeing that the colonel seemed to be in control of the situation with the runaway queen. She clearly didn't seem hostile, just defensive, but that didn't make the lieutenant feel less uneasy.

Outside nine men were preparing to surround the huge double doors. Riza quickly raised her gun, catching them by surprise. _Not very well trained it seemed._

"I would put those away if I were you." – the sniper called to the scrappy entourage. Two of them were in what seemed liked red Drachman uniform, pointing crossbows at her. The rest in Arendelle's formal wear, except the one who seemed to be in charge was in long greyish overcoat. The way he held himself suggested that he was royalty, if Riza had to guess he was Prince Hans.

"This is an internal matter, why is Amestris involved?" – the reddish brown haired individual addressed the blue-clad woman. The fact that he recognized their military uniform – even when it was partially covered by the black overcoat – only ascertained that assumption.

"You are currently standing on the Amestrian border. State your business." – Hawkeye ordered with cold efficiency, not taking her eyes off of them. They were grossly outnumbered if it were to come to that. Their only advantage was that they had guns against crossbows and swords. Being alchemically advanced as a country did wonders for the weaponry research and advancements too. Something the sniper had a great appreciation for at the moment.

"I am Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. We are in search of Princess Anna. She had come after her sister the day before yesterday but not yet returned, this is why we started here in finding her." – the redhead man stepped forward with his hands in front of him, palms towards the lieutenant to show that he was unarmed and his intentions benign. His story seemed to collaborate what they had heard so far. _Still why come with a small platoon?_ It just seemed fishy.

"Princess Anna is not here. Tell your associates to lower their weapons." – Riza insisted.

Hans signaled them to do so, the two maroon uniformed soldiers more reluctant than the others. The sniper made a mental note to keep a closer eye on those two.

She nodded to Jean to go and inform the Colonel of the development, meanwhile she only slightly lowered the angle of her gun. Havoc backed away then through the door, he too still cautious of the situation. They really should have brought more back-up with them if nothing else to stand guard. Now Hawkeye felt awfully exposed.

Soon Mustang emerged with the second lieutenant, gesturing for the royalty to stay behind the doors.

"I'm Colonel Roy Mustang of the Amestrian military. What seems to be the problem, gentlemen?" – Roy addressed the entourage with his most authoritative voice. He very much hoped that this wouldn't turn into a skirmish.

"We are looking for Princess Anna, if we could speak with Queen Elsa directly." – Prince Hans repeated his request, growing more and more impatient with the situation.

"As far as I know my lieutenant has already told you that the princess in not here." – Mustang replied calmly.

"We are really worried for Anna's well-being. Her horse returned without her, spooked, in the morning." – the Aerugian prince elaborated in a pleading voice.

"What about Anna? She left hours ago, she should have made it back already. Though she came without a horse." – Elsa inquired frantically as she stepped out despite of Roy's instructions, which made the colonel shake his head mentally at her brash behavior. For a simple search party, nine men were awfully too many to have stayed together, they should have spread out to widen the area they could cover in a shorter amount of time. The only logical explanation was that their main goal was to capture the queen instead of finding the princess.

"Your Majesty, I don't think there is cause for alarm yet. Given that Princess Anna only left here a few hours ago, it is possible that they have just missed each other on the way. I would suggest looking for her back towards Arendelle. I humbly offer my own and my men's help in the search." – Mustang provided his assistance to Elsa, ignoring Hans. He didn't trust him. Not one bit.

"With all due respect, Colonel, but we have more than enough volunteers already, we don't need Amestris with its dubious political games to meddle in Arendelle's affairs. Queen Elsa if you would come with us? Time is of the essence." – Hans implored with fake sincerity that seemingly only Roy saw through.

Elsa was torn, glancing between the two parties. She honestly would have wanted to just stay at the ice palace but she was worried for Anna.

"Thank you, Colonel Mustang, for the open-mind that you have shown me and my country despite my actions that could have been taken as hostility towards Amestris. But I must do this myself." – she declared finally as she placed a hand on Roy's upper arm, stepping around him to join the search party. The touch spoke more than words about her gratitude and Roy couldn't figure out what other emotion her eyes tried to convey.

"If that is you wish, Your Majesty." – the colonel nodded with a frown. He had a very bad feeling about this but diplomatically speaking he had no jurisdiction to overrule her decision. – "About the castle…"

Blue eyes looked up on the huge structure with a bit of sadness. She had grown really fond of the place. It was her solace.

"If it will appease your country, you may destroy it, or do as you see fit with it." – the blond queen stated finally, then with purposeful strides joined Hans and his men, descending on the ice bridge. Soon they were out of sight.

"Was that wise, Sir?" – Riza inquired after a few moments, a similar grimace adorning her face.

"Did I have a choice, Lieutenant?" – Roy sighed, rubbing his face exasperatedly. He turned around, facing the ice palace, Hawkeye joining him while Havoc watched their back just to make sure.

"Are you going to destroy it, Sir?" – she asked thoughtfully. She had to admit it was a magnificent work of art, a testament to the beauty of alchemy when it's used to create and not destroy.

"No. Not yet, anyway. Let's go down, have Fuery report in to Briggs through the radio to get orders from Central on how to best handle the situation, and to have them send a note to the ambassador so he knows of the Queen's return." – Mustang decided finally. He had no doubt Bradley would have them tearing it down anyway, but his conscience felt better if he were to do it on orders instead of his own volition. And with those thoughts they started to make their way down to the base of the mountain too.


	5. Treacherous elements

Looking back at her refuge over her shoulder as Hans escorted her, Elsa had to wonder if she had made the right choice in not asking Amestris for help. The soldiers, especially those two who – if she recalled correctly – were the Duke of Weselton's men, were giving her condemning, hostile glares. And they weren't spreading out to cover more ground, just heading straight back to Arandelle. She had to wonder if searching for Anna had really been their purpose at all.

The colonel seemed like a good man. One with honor and integrity. He would have kept his word, she was sure of it. But surprisingly enough it wasn't him that she wished had accompanied her. His lieutenant. She never got her name, but now that her mind wasn't clouded by fear of what the obviously well-trained female soldier would do to her if she were to accidently unleash frozen hell on them, Elsa really longed for her to be there. She seemed strong, independent and very sure of herself. Her brown eyes oozed confidence and a no nonsense attitude. Things the queen wished to be herself.

And for some reason she just couldn't shake this feeling from the pit of her stomach. That was her last thought before something hit her on the back of her head and she blacked out.

* * *

"Boss!" – Havoc brought the colonel out from his reverie as the rest of the team slowly came into view in the distance. Falman was running towards them in a hurry, trying to get their attention. Mustang and Hawkeye shared a meaningful look. Obviously there had been some kind of development while they were away. The three of them made haste too.

"Sir, we found two people, a man and a woman. They had tumbled off the cliff, fortunately the snow breaking their fall so they are not hurt. But the girl… she is unwell, seems as if she is freezing to death from the inside. The man with her insisted that she is Princess Anna of Arendelle." – the WO explained frantically, barely catching his breath as they met half way.

"The princess? Why didn't you start with this?" – Roy exclaimed, treading through the snow towards the others. Now that he observed further he saw that there seemed to be an unfamiliar blond man – and a reindeer? – with the scouts, intently explaining something to Breda, frequently shooting worried glances to something or someone at their side, not yet in view for him.

"No! I'm telling you… This was an accident. She didn't mean to." – Mustang heard the man agitatedly cry out as he came closer. The woman with him certainly looked worse for wear.

"K-Kristoff…" – the ginger haired girl bundled up in blankets stuttered through her clattering teeth, trying to rein in her companion by placing her hand on his arm.

"Don't worry, Anna. I have some friends who can help." – the lad named Kristoff turned his attention from Roy's subordinate to the girl, rubbing her arms through the blankets, trying to warm her up.

"I'll take over from here, gentlemen." – Mustang announced his presence, turning to the pair of trespassers while motioning for Hawkeye to take care of the business discussed earlier. – "I'm Colonel Roy Mustang of the Amestrian military, in charge of this operation."

"Finally someone capable of making decisions here!" – Kristoff sighed in frustration.

"No need to get exasperated, we are just trying to do our jobs. You are currently on Amestrian land, illegally trespassing." – the raven-haired man stated matter-of-factly as Breda brought him up to speed quickly on what they had found out so far. Based on their account, their names were Kristoff Bjorgman and Princess Anna of Arendelle, who had come after her sister after she fled the castle on her coronation day. When they found her, Elsa accidentally hit Anna with ice alchemy – well, they didn't call it that, but the colonel knew better – after the girl tried to plead with her to return to undo the eternal winter in Arendelle. In her agitation and desperation to have them leave the Snow Queen conjured that golem that had pushed them off the ledge.

"W-we ar-re so-sorry…" – Anna tried to explain, but her shaking inevitably got in the way.

"Don't speak, Princess, try to conserve your energy." – Roy suggested as he cleared a spot beside her on the rock. The scouts, upon Falman's suggestion, had gathered some wood, which the Flame Alchemist proceeded to light now, to keep the lady warm. Anna flinched away a bit at first when he snapped his fingers and looked in bewilderment at the flames but quickly welcomed it, scooting as close to it as she could without burning herself.

"You believe us?" – Kristoff seemed hopeful, even his reindeer – who is apparently called Sven – nodding along.

"We have one way of finding out…" – Mustang trailed off then turned to one of the scouts. – "Which one is closer Fort Briggs or the city of Arendelle?"

"Arendelle, Sir." – the soldier in white from head to toe replied.

The colonel looked over to their three vehicles. _Would they be able to make it through the mountain on those?_ Kristoff caught his line of sight.

"A sled would be better suited for the terrain than those." – he commented.

"There are snow-mobiles stashed in a bunker not far off." – one of the scouts informed the colonel.

"Get us three of those." – Mustang ordered the scout, who immediately left off with one of his comrades to retrieve them.

"Two is fine, I'll just ride on Sven." – Kristoff amended. _Not too fond of technology I see._

"Let's take three anyway just in case." – he called after the soldiers who paused because of their exchange. One for each of them. It would be more comfortable. – "Havoc, Hawkeye, you with me. The rest, return to Briggs. Brief General Armstrong of the developments."

* * *

Their journey was uneventful. Princess Anna decided to ride with Kristoff as she felt more comfortable with him. Roy couldn't blame her. Her last few days must have been hell, with so many new, strange people in her life. It was nice to have someone at least slightly familiar by her side. And of course, just like her sister, she couldn't be fully sure how much she could trust the Amestrian officers.

Meanwhile Mustang filled her in on her sister's situation that she had returned to the castle with the escort of Hans.

They reached the town limits of Arendelle in less than half an hour with their means of transport. With Anna's royal permission the guards let in the foreign soldiers too at the gate. They had to leave their snow mobiles there though because the cobblestoned streets weren't suited for them, and made the rest of the way on foot. The princess was barely able to stay upright, so Kristoff had to carry her.

"Anna!" – Hans greeted them at the castle entrance, obviously word traveled fast. Or everyone reported to him now it seemed. _Where was the queen?_ The same question seemed to be running through the princess's mind too.

"Where's Elsa?" – the ginger girl asked in a whisper as she was set on her feet by Kristoff, hugging herself tightly to keep herself warm.

"Let's go inside and I will tell you everything." – the Aerugian prince started steering her towards the huge double doors. As Mustang and his team began to follow them, Hans turned around and halted them with an almost snarl. – "You are not invited."

"We still have business with the queen regarding our border breech." – the colonel replied coolly. Not to mention that he didn't trust him with either of the sisters. This whole situation just weirdly struck him as being premeditated in some way.

"Then request an audience!" – he rebuffed, face contorted with anger and impatience. Anna raised a brow at his outburst. Someone is showing their true colors it seemed, this wasn't the behavior that the princess had expected from him. Not that they had known each other for too long.

"Lieutenant, contact our ambassador to initiate the process." – Mustang turned to his subordinate and ordered her in a level voice. He was not easily thrown off his equilibrium, especially not when serious diplomatic issues were at risk.

"Th-there is no need. On my authority, I'll allow your entrance." – Anna cut in, still eyeing Hans suspiciously.

"We are honored, Princess." – Roy nodded in respectful acknowledgement.

"P-please. Call me Ana. I owe you my life." – she waved his formality off. – "You too, Kristoff. Thank you for getting me here."

"It was nothing." – he laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head in a nervous gesture. The Flame Alchemist observed their exchange with a bit of mirth. The boy obviously had a thing for the princess. _Aw. Young love._

"Let's get you inside, you are freezing." – Hans insisted begrudgingly before either party could reply, not a hint of empathy in his voice, just doing and saying what was strictly expected of him in the situation. _Spoiled brat_ , the colonel thought.

The prince took Anna by her shoulders and escorted her inside, Mustang's team following. Kristoff just stood there bereft, absolutely lost at what he should do next.

As they walked through the decorated halls of the palace, there was still no sign of the queen, which had the Amestrian team even more mistrustful. Something was not right. Elsa was clearly worried for her sister earlier, she would have met them already if she had known that Anna was here. _What's keeping her? Or more precisely who?_

"Wait here." – Hans instructed them as they reached the ante chamber to the throne room, taking Anna's hand and dragging her further. She shot a worried glance towards Roy before they disappeared through the door.

On a bold, quick decision the raven-haired man pressed his index finger to his mouth to signal his adjutants to stay quiet and he inched closer to the door, opening it back up slightly. Fortunately it didn't creak.

"W-where is my sister?" – Anna stuttered, her shivering picking back up as she walked over to the fire place.

"Anna, I'm really sorry to tell you this… But Queen Elsa has been charged with treason against Arendelle. She is being held in the dungeons." – the Aerugian prince informed her, his voice not holding an ounce of regret.

"Well, then erase the charges. I order it!" – the princess exclaimed, finding her strength again. Probably a rush of adrenalin.

"My dear, sweet, naïve Anna…" – Hans replied with eerie calm, taking her cheeks in his hand roughly. – "You really don't understand, do you?"

He walked over to her, passing over in the thin line of sight Mustang had of the room.

"As the thirteenth son I never had a chance at the throne back home. So I devised a plan. Marry you, then arrange an unfortunate accident that claims the queen and take over the throne through marriage. But that witch made it so much easier with suddenly freezing the country and fleeing. Who was here in support of the country when both princesses ran off, abandoning them? Well me, of course." – Hans revealed as he put the fire out, both that and his tone making Anna shudder, fear taking hold in her heart.

"W-what are you saying?" – the younger royal backed up a step from her fiancé.

"How tragic would it be if the second heir died of her sister's magic, leaving the country to me?" – he asked rhetorically in a mocking tone as he went over to the windows, opening them and retrieving an icicle from the ledge.

"I would stop right there if I were you." – Mustang entered with his subordinates, then with a snap of his fingers reignited the fire in the hearth, just in time as the traitor raised his fisted hand above his head to strike the princess, fallen on the ground in her weakened state, her knees not supporting her weight anymore.

Hawkeye without a word approached, her gun trained square between Hans's eyes.

"Drop your weapon!" – she ordered in a slow calm tone.

The redheaded prince let the frozen chunk fall from his hand, shattering into a million pieces on the floor. Havoc made his over to him, while Hawkeye still had him at gunpoint

"What kind of monster are you?" – Hans spat with indignation as he was cuffed behind his back by the second lieutenant.

"I'm the Flame Alchemist." – Mustang answered casually, not letting it show how much those words hit home, images of Ishbal flashing before his eyes. Yes, he had been a true monster all this time, hidden behind a mask of political indifference.

Recognition and realization flashed in the captive's eyes. Stories had been told of him it seemed even in the royal court of Aerugo. Anna tried to stand up, still weak, the colonel had to help her. She then squared her shoulders in preparation of what she was about to do.

"Call the guards, please." – she whispered to him in a low tone. With a nod of his head, Roy sent Havoc for them. Within less than a minute they returned.

"Prince Hans of the Southern Isles, you are hereby charged with the attempted murder of myself, Princess Anna of Arendelle, and treason against the crown of Arendelle. Consider our engagement broken off. Take him to the dungeons, his punishment will be decided at a later date." – the younger princess declared, the last sentence aimed at the guards, miraculously able to keep her voice level and authoritative. There was something to be said for the tenaciousness of these two women.

"This isn't over yet, Anna! I will get you, you fucking bitch!" – were the last words they could hear as he was hauled away from the room, him struggling every step of the way.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Anna visibly sagged, letting out a breath that she might have been holding to keep herself going.

"If I may suggest, Princess, he should be questioned to determine if he had accomplices." – the colonel advised the acting monarch.

"I told you to call me Anna…" – and with that she fainted, her eyes rolling back. Good thing he was right by her, so he was able to catch her and lay her gently on the floor. Her body was freezing cold, despite the fire that was ablaze in the hearth right beside them.

"Lieutenant, have them release and escort the Queen up quickly. We need to reverse her alchemy now!" – Mustang's calm demeanor was gone. Hawkeye hurried off in a flat out run, understanding very much the gravity of the situation.

"Come on, Anna, don't give out on us now!" – he murmured as he held her, then turned to Havoc. – "Have them find a pen and paper or chalk. We will need to figure out quickly what array was used." – _and figure out how to counteract it_ , he added mentally. This wasn't his field at all. Fullmetal would have had no problem in solving it in less than a second. Again he wished very much that the pipsqueak was here. They were running out of time. – "And a few more blankets!" – he added as he took his coat off and wrapped the princess in that too, rubbing her arms for friction. Skin to skin body heat would have been better, but _that_ would have been so inappropriate on so many levels, he couldn't even count.

Jean returned with the requested items at the same time with Riza and Elsa, her hair in disarray, clothing thorn in places. Just what the hell were these people doing to her?

"Anna!" – she ran to them frantically, dropping to her knees by her side, afraid to touch her, of doing more damage.

"Your Majesty, I need you to concentrate." – Mustang told her, motioning for Havoc to give her the pen and paper. – "I need to you to visualize and draw up the image that flashes in your mind when your alchemy goes out of control."

Elsa looked at him with trepidation and panic but began to draw, meanwhile Roy wrapped Anna in another layer of blankets.

One of the guards returned, glancing at them in confusion. Hawkeye went to deal with him, then returned in a few seconds.

"Sir, Kristoff Bjorgman is outside, seeking entry." – she informed her CO.

Roy and Elsa shared a glance. She didn't see a problem with the boy, nodded slightly looking up at the sniper and returned to her work. Mustang affirmed his approval to his adjutant too, and she was off to instruct the guards.

Roy had to wonder for a moment how she was doing it. They had absolutely no authority here, yet she was able to free the queen without a problem and now it seemed the palace guards took orders from her without a moment of hesitation.

"Done." – Elsa declared a minute later, handing the paper to the colonel for examination, just as Riza returned with the peasant boy. He handed Anna off to him with instructions on keeping her warm, then looked at the piece of paper.

_Shit_ , he thought. That is one hell of a circle. Swirls and lines all over the place. No wonder it went out of control when Elsa wasn't consciously regulating of the energy she put into it. All he could tell that once activated, if not cut off, the array would go into an exponential escalation until it reached its limit that only depended on the alchemist. That actually explained quite a lot.

"Walk me through it, what is your understanding of what happens when you use it?" – Roy instructed the queen in their impromptu alchemy lesson.

His initial assumption was correct it seemed, the circle regulated molecular resonance frequency. Slowing it down to be more precise. That's why everything froze. Anna was only able to hold out for so long because the body's natural processes to keep homeostasis was working against it. _But she will die, if we don't figure this out fast._

"Here!" – Mustang exclaimed suddenly, finding the part that he believed to be the culprit. He grabbed another piece of paper, drawing up something hastily. – "Replace that one part with this symbol."

The queen studied the circular motif for a moment, mentally correcting the image she had.

"What now?" – she inquired with worry. Anna's lips were turning blue at an alarming rate, her breathing was almost nonexistent by this time too.

"We have no time to experiment. Clap your hands with the revised array in mind and touch your sister." – the Flame Alchemist instructed.

"Hey, hey, hey, wait a minute! What if it doesn't work, or backfires?" – Kristoff cut in with alarm in his voice.

"If we don't do this now, she will die anyway. Your Majesty, do it!" – Mustang insisted with urgency. After a fraction of a second of hesitation Elsa did as she was told, a slight alchemic reaction trickled into the air as their skins touched.

The seconds ticked by and the apprehension grew in the air. Everyone was holding their breath in anticipation. But Anna just lay there motionless in the blond boy's arms.

And then, suddenly her eyes flew open and she gasped for air, a little bit color returning to her skin. She spotted her older sister and reached out for her, engulfing her in a huge hug immediately.

"I knew you could do it." – Anna whispered to Elsa, catching Roy's eyes in the process, thanking him too with a smile.

The raven-haired alchemist exhaled with great relief. He wasn't a religious man. Being an alchemist basically made those two mutually exclusive. But right at this moment he couldn't help but wonder how miraculous it was that they managed to pull this off in time, without something going horribly wrong.


	6. Intentions revealed

After the excitement died down, Princess Anna was set up in her room to rest. The court doctor had been called to check her out. Kristoff wouldn't leave her side, and it seemed the ginger girl didn't want him to either. During the wait, Roy explained what he could about alchemy to the young ruler, so that she could keep her powers and the flow of energy in check. Even recommended a few books that she should read if she wanted to study the subject further.

"Would you like to do the honors, Your Majesty?" – Mustang asked the queen after they had closed the door on the lovebirds once the physician left with the assessment that Anna should be able to recover without any lasting damage. – "If I believe correctly there is still a country left to be unfrozen."

"Please, call me Elsa." – she smiled at him warmly, then took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders and continued. – "Yes, let's do this." – and purposefully strode down the hall, with a small brush of her hands fixing her clothing, now again whole and glittering, made fully of never melting ice, then absentmindedly started to re-braid her hair, not really paying attention if the Amestrians were following her.

Roy couldn't help but watch the sway of her hips, with his head slightly tilted. Within the day he had become on first name basis with both members of the Arendelle royal family. They were either very open and friendly with everyone, which he doubted especially in the case of the queen, or there was definitely something to be said for his charms.

"Sir, with all due respect, you're an idiot." – Hawkeye commented with a little huff and followed the royalty, with her head held high in indignation.

Her outrage had Mustang perplexed for a moment. There were so many things this could have referred to. Had he misread the situation? Was she chiding him for his inappropriate staring? Did she personally have a problem with it? Was she jealous? Did she have a problem with how he handled the whole incident?

"Women, right?" – Havoc patted him on the shoulder as a comforting gesture, only to back off with his hands up because of the glare that Roy gave him. _Jean was one to talk about women._ – "Khm, right, we should go after them."

"No, you stay here and make sure no one enters that room. I don't know who is loyal to the crown. We can't have another murder attempt." – the colonel replied, his equilibrium and strategic thinking returning.

* * *

Outside the castle people ogled with fear and contempt as Elsa made her way to the port of the city, the crowd parting, leaving a path wide open. Four days ago anyone would have said that it was out of respect towards the monarch. Now, not so much. Everyone was dreading the Snow Queen's fury and her power, almost anticipating her to turn them into ice sculptures. The two foreign soldiers by her side didn't help much with that either. But the queen walked confidently and unwaveringly anyway.

As she reached the frozen lake she clapped her hands together purposefully and placed them on the ice, concentrating very hard on the task. Instantly the glaze started to recede on the surface. Soon the scenery changed to what it should look like at this time of year and altitude they were currently at, only a small snow cap remaining on the top of the highest mountains in the distance. Even the weather seemed to clear a bit, the angry clouds dissipating.

At first people watched warily but when they saw that the Snow Queen had come to end the eternal winter, and not to curse them all, a few of them started clapping and cheering her name. The mood was infectious, spreading like wild fire through the crowd.

As she finished the deed, Elsa straightened up again and turned towards her citizens with a benevolent smile.

"People of Arendelle!" – the monarch addressed the assembly, her voice confident and quieting the murmur of conversations instantly. – "As your queen I must apologize for the hardships I put you through. When I was eight years old I was bestowed with a great power, but I never learned to control it and take responsibility for it. Until today that is. Our friends from Amestris had taught me the principles of alchemy that are key to ensure that such an event may never occur on our lands again. For that I am grateful to our neighbors and in their honor, tomorrow evening there will be a ball held at the palace, to which you are all welcome." – she delivered her announcement much to the joy of everyone. Mustang watched her in awe. At this moment she was every bit the queen she was supposed to be, and not the timid girl, afraid of herself and the world.

"On another, regretfully less joyous note." – she continued. – "Taking advantage of my momentary weakness and lapse of judgement, Prince Hans of the Southern Isles from Aerugo and the Duke of Weselton from Drachma have conspired to eliminate both myself and my sister, Princess Anna, and to forcefully take the country over from us, under the guise of goodwill." – while Elsa uttered these words, a flurry of action erupted from the right back corner of the square. As it turned out the duke had been hiding in the crowd, trying to find out what was going on. Thankfully the guards spotted them, and apprehended both him and his two guards, whom Roy recognized as the ones in the search party. – "I hereby exile both of them and their men from Arendelle. They are to be deported after they had been questioned. That is all."

"Your Majesty…" – Roy began in a low voice as the crowd began to disperse, everyone returning to their business, but was cut short by the queen.

"I told you to call me Elsa. And don't question me on my decision." – she chided in a warm but firm tone, placing her hand on his upper arm. Obviously this matter wasn't up for discussion. – "You can interrogate them, if that will put your mind at ease, Colonel."

Truthfully, it wasn't the decision per se that he wanted to object to. Although maybe a bit lenient, for a country this small imprisoning for an extended time or executing foreign royals was not an option, nor did they have any leverage to negotiate or hold the events against their countries. But strategically speaking the public announcement of it without any forethought or trial might have been a bit hasty. Not to mention that with his presence this very much could have seemed as something premeditated by Amestris. General Armstrong was surely going to flip and blame any repercussions that may come from this on him, especially on the Drachman side. The colonel really wished that he had been consulted before the announcement, but what was done was done. Just had to make the best of it.

"Please, call me Roy." – Mustang switched to full-on charming mode, taking Elsa's hand and kissing it.

"Roy." – the queen nodded to him in acknowledgement, hiding her shock at the gesture.

"Elsa." – he replied with a broad smile as she turned away from him to return to the castle.

"Lieutenant, could you please accompany me?" – she shifted back as an afterthought, taking Riza by surprise.

"I am terribly sorry, Your Majesty, but I'm the bodyguard of the Colonel. I mustn't leave him alone." – Hawkeye glanced at her superior, hoping very much that he backed her up on this. It was the truth after all.

"No, you go, Lieutenant. I can take care of myself." – Roy smirked. With another uneasy gaze towards her CO she joined the monarch on her walk to the palace.

He watched the women go, very pleased with himself. He wasn't even Führer yet but he already had more than great relations personally with one of their neighboring countries. Only four more to go, if you counted Xing that was across the Great Desert. Although certainly the day's events didn't help with Drachma and Aerugo. The tradeoff might not have been worth it. On a second thought this incident didn't matter much in the greater scheme of things, King Bradley did enough on his own to antagonize those nations.

He decided to take a quick stroll of the small town before returning himself. Maybe drop by their ambassador's office to have him give a report of the situation to back home and get the rest of the team with their formal wear down. Taking in the architecture of the city as he walked, he had to admit, this place was a real hidden gem. No wonder it was a popular tourist attraction all round.

* * *

"Lieutenant, you can call me Elsa, too. I consider all members of your team my personal friends after everything you have done for us." – the queen offered as soon as they were out of earshot.

"I'm honored." – the sniper accepted with a professional smile. – "My name is Riza Hawkeye, by the way, I don't think we had time for formal introductions earlier."

"It's a very beautiful name." – Elsa beamed happily. Her stomach was full of butterflies again, now that she had the female soldier alone, not quite sure how to proceed. – "About tomorrow's ball… I was thinking of lending you one of my dresses. We seem to be about the same size."

"No, it's quite alright. I'm sure the Colonel has already thought of contacting our ambassador to get a note to the rest of our team at Fort Briggs, and they can bring over our formal uniforms in time for the ball tomorrow evening." – Hawkeye protested as they stepped in through the double doors, holding it open for the queen, despite how appealing that thought was. Before the military, before her father… marked her… she was very happy to wear skirts and lower cut tops. But anything with even a slightly open back was out of the question for her now.

"I insist, Riza. You'd look lovely in any of them." – Elsa paused suddenly, taking the female soldier's hands in hers, practically begging.

"If you are sure…" – the sniper relented finally. She had her hunches earlier, but she was starting to get more and more confident in her assumption, laughing inwardly at Mustang. _What a slap in the face this will be!_

"I'm thinking something red, or purple maybe. It would accentuate your eyes." – the queen continued her musings, all hyped over the idea.

"Whatever you think is best." – Riza decided it was prudent to just go along, but keeping her voice and demeanor in a professional detachment. Less painful. There was no way the foreign royalty would act on her feelings, right? – "My only stipulation is that my whole back must covered."

"Oh. Alright, I think I can work with that." – she didn't question her request, much to Hawkeye's relief. After a little pause, as they reached the quiet hallway leading to her personal chambers, she tentatively continued. – "I wanted to ask earlier… are you and the Colonel… involved?"

The question was unexpected, and for a fraction of a moment Riza wasn't sure how she should answer that. She didn't want to encourage her advances, and giving a negative answer to that would give the impression that she was open to them. Even if it was the truth, despite everything. They were just too professional and driven to jeopardize Mustang's goal to become Führer. There was no way of telling what would be the case if circumstances weren't against them, but that was beside the point at the moment. A tiny fraction of her wanted to lie, to claim Roy as hers, but the risks were just too great. Even if they were in a foreign country and no one was listening in on this conversation.

"No, he is merely my CO and I'm his adjutant." – Hawkeye replied swiftly before that stream of thought could even have consciously flown through her mind. She wished the queen would ask about her sexual orientation and they could get this whole situation behind them with her turning Elsa down without much heartache. But she didn't.

"Come. I think I have thought of just the perfect piece." – Elsa invited her into her room.

It was quite spacious and regally decorated in blues and gold. Riza's whole apartment could fit into it. Here and there you could see the marks of previous frost damage on the furniture and walls. This must have been the place where the then princess lived her days in seclusion when she couldn't control her powers. But otherwise there wasn't even a speck of dust out of place. The castle maids must have come in regularly to clean despite the dangers and in the last few days they had all the time in the world to tidy up. They walked from the sitting room to the similarly styled bedroom.

"Sorry about the mess." – ice blue eyes flickered with embarrassment as they lingered on the rougher edges of the wood on the four poster bed.

For a moment Hawkeye couldn't imagine what the queen could possibly be talking about.

"Trust me, this is far from a mess. I live with a raucous puppy." – the sniper smiled as she remembered the black and white Shiba Inu.

"What's its name?" – Elsa inquired, genuinely interested, as she stepped towards her dresser. She wanted to find out anything and everything about the female soldier.

"Black Hayate." – Riza revealed with a poker-face and serious tone. The queen tried really hard to remain composed, but the name was so ridiculous that she cracked and a giggle escaped her lips. The lieutenant allowed herself a small smile too. – "Yes, I've been told I have an atrocious lack of sense at naming things."

"No, no, it's quite endearing." – Elsa turned her head from the sniper back towards her closet, where she rummaged through to find the dress she was looking for.

After a moment she pulled out a deep burgundy, high-neck, body hugging slim skirt, lace adorned silk piece, with a long side slit to mid-thigh. On the front there was a fan shaped cut out to accentuate the cleavage area, but the back was fully covered as promised.

"It was a gift for my eighteenth birthday but I never had a chance to wear it." – the queen mused as she eyed the dress falling gracefully from the hanger in her hands, then handed it to Riza.

"Are you sure? You should be the first one to get to wear it." – the lieutenant had to admit, it _was_ beautiful.

"Nah, red isn't really my color, it suits you much better. And I think from now on I will only be wearing my own creations." – Elsa waved off the concern with a wave of her hand. At that moment she seemed so much more like her free spirited sister. Her lack of control over her alchemy must have been a real burden on her soul. They must have been really close in their younger years. Riza could just imagine them running around in the castle playing.

The Amestrian soldier hesitated for a few more moments, taking the gown in further.

"Ah, screw it!" – Hawkeye exclaimed after a minute, dismissing her own worries. – "It's my birthday tomorrow anyway. I'm allowed a little indulgence, aren't I?"

Elsa just smiled approvingly and hoped very much that she could do something to brighten the brown-eyed woman's special day even further the next day.

* * *

It was getting really late, and everyone had a very, very long day behind them. Mustang's team were all provided with a room in the guest wing of the castle.

Roy had just returned from the city, rounding the corner to their assigned accommodations, which he was informed of at the entrance, as he caught a glimpse of his lieutenant entering her room. He briefly wondered if he should knock and visit her, but thought better of it, retiring for the night himself.

Inside Riza hung the dress on the bathroom door, placing her other belongings on the chair in front of the dresser table. She insisted on trying it on in private, no need to provide chances for accidentally revealing her back that held the key to flame alchemy, especially to a talented alchemist like the queen.

She began to peel her uniform off of herself, undoing her hair, massaging her scalp where her clip had pulled a little too hard. Tomorrow was July 26th, her twenty-seventh birthday. Would Roy remember?

With a sigh she decided to slip on the gown just to make sure it was the right size and that she would be able to handle the zipper on her own.

With great effort and a lot of wriggling but she managed to do it without help. The gown fit her like a glove. Her eyes wondered to the bag on the chair that contained shoes, stockings and various jewelry selections that went well with her attire.

Selecting the long drop diamond earring and bracelet set, and a pair of black pumps, she looked at herself in the floor length mirror. Riza had to admit that she was gorgeous. Jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring beauty in this get-up.

The sniper turned around and noted with great relief that although the back didn't have a layer of lining, the lace was woven thick enough that with the color of her tattoo didn't show through at all.

Her eyes caught her gun holsters that lay on top of her uniform jacket on the bed. The slit up to her thigh allowed her to carry a smaller gun on herself unnoticed and easily accessible. Truly perfect. Just the way she liked it.

* * *

The next day started with the interrogation of Prince Hans and the Duke of Weselton. The Drachman wasn't a tough cookie to crack. It seemed he didn't have a single backbone in him and readily betrayed his accomplice, giving out all the details of their plans. All versions of them as they evolved over the course of the last few days.

The Aerugian royalty on the other hand… he talked alright, but his words were better suited for a hate speech than a royal court, even accounting for the fact that they were in the dungeons of the castle.

"I hope you rot in hell, along with that ice witch. You both are freaks of nature and deserve to die!" – is what he said during one of his rants, spitting in Mustang's face as he tried to interrogate him.

On the other side of the one-way mirror Riza watched along with the Arendelle royals.

"And you wanted to marry that?" – Elsa jabbed at her sister with a little push of her elbow.

"He seemed like a nice guy… At first." – Anna grimaced as she watched the proceedings. Thank God, she dodged that bullet. One thing was for sure, she and Kristoff were going to take things _slooooow_.

"Yeah, a real charmer." – Riza quipped with sarcasm. There was no excuse for this kind of behavior. Being the thirteenth son surely didn't directly result in such prejudices and hate, something else might have been in the background, but fortunately – or unfortunately depending on the point of view – for them, that didn't matter.

"Frozen hearted, frigid bitches, they have no right to this country!" – Hans yelled as a response to a question about something relating to the murder plot against the girls.

Elsa gasped, glancing at her younger sister with worry, wondering if her feelings were hurt. Surprisingly Anna's usually innocent face set into hard lines of determination.

Soon Roy gave up his attempts, it was obvious that he was a lost case. As the guards entered to escort him back to his cell, Anna made a beeline for the door and was out on the corridor before either of the other two women could stop her. Riza tried knocking on the glass to warn Mustang to keep the prisoner back, but it was too late.

"The only one with a frozen heart is you!" – the younger princess declared right to Hans's sneering face, then punched him square in the nose. – "That's for my sister!" – followed by a swift knee-kick in the groin. – "And that is for me."

Without another word she spun around and stalked off towards the door that led out of the dungeons, swishing past Havoc on the other side, who was completely oblivious to what went down and suddenly didn't even know if he should run after her or stay behind, glancing back unsurely into the hallway at the utterly stunned, gaping trio as the guards hauled the heavily groaning prince off behind them.


	7. Three way love affair... or maybe not

Later in the day there wasn't even a trace of her foul mood. Anna flitted around the castle, excitedly overseeing the preparations for the dance, she herself already dressed, hair, make-up and everything already done. Her green A-line dress suited her coloring very well.

"Kristoff!" – the younger princess exclaimed, skidding to a halt across the corridor when she spotted the man she was looking for. – "I've got something to show you!"

And with that she eagerly dragged the unsuspecting and surprised blond boy off towards the courtyard. Before they could have stepped outside, she stopped him and placed her hands over his eyes.

"Close your eyes, and no peeking!" – Anna warned with a laugh that resembled little jingling bells, then placed a little shawl as a blindfold over them.

Kristoff obliged without a word, although mildly curious of what this possibly could be about. As she dragged him across the cobblestoned streets they both almost tripped over from the haste and the fact that the blond boy couldn't see where they were going. In her enthusiasm and carelessness she even managed to lead him into a lamp post at the last minute.

"We are here! So what do you think?" – the princess could barely contain her glee, bouncing from foot to foot, then quickly realized that her companion's eyes were still covered and pulled it off.

Before them was a brand new, most beautiful, suped-up sled with Sven posing in front of it. Kristoff looked between the sleigh and the object of his affections in confusion.

"I owe you a sled." – Anna declared as an explanation, looking very pleased with herself.

"Are you serious?" – he asked finally inching closer to examine it.

"Yes. And it's the latest model." – the ginger haired girl affirmed proudly.

"No. I can't accept this..." – the boy looked lost for a second as he glanced back over his shoulder. She did say a few days ago in the mountains that she would replace the sled that they lost to the ravine as they escaped the wolves, but… this was just over the top.

"You have to. No returns. No exchanges. Queen's orders. She's named you the official Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer." – Anna excitedly joined him, patting the medal around the reindeer's neck who in turn straightened, puffing his chest out like he was the king of bucks.

"What? That's not a thing." – Kristoff smirked, trying to stifle a laugh at the girl's enthusiasm.

"Sure it is. And it even has a cup holder..." – she trailed off for a second, suddenly unsure if she chose the right one because of those protests. – "Do you like it?"

"Like it?" – he smiled even further then suddenly swooped her up high overhead and spun her around. – "I love it... I could kiss you!"

Suddenly feeling embarrassed, he dropped her back on her feet. – "...I could. I mean I'd like to. I'd... may I? We me...I mean, may we? Wait, what?" – Kristoff rambled on, scratching the back of his head until Anna gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"We may." – Anna knowingly told him. He smiled again and went for it. It was a true love's kiss, alright. As magical as anyone would have imagined.

Their moment was soon cut short as the murmur of conversation around them changed in tone. Looking through the crowd Anna tried to pinpoint the source of the commotion and soon noticed the blue informs coming in through the gate. The rest of the Amestrian delegation it seemed.

"Give me a moment, okay?" – the princess turned to her boyfriend.

"Go on ahead, I'll meet you inside." – Kristoff gave another quick kiss on her forehead then let her off. Anna glanced back over her shoulder with another loving smile before hurrying her steps to see what was going on.

The blond boy gave a small sigh, almost melting into a puddle right then and there. Sven gave a nudge with his nuzzle into his shoulder, with an expression that almost resembled a quirked brow.

"I know, I know, I've got it bad." – he laughed out, scratching his animal companion behind his ear then turned to his new sleigh. – "Let's get this beauty to the stables."

Anna cut through the crowd to meet the blue-clad soldiers. There were five of them, a blond woman with piercing blue eyes in the lead, a darker skinned, white-haired man in sunglasses by her side, and three other men following who – based on the descriptions Mustang gave them earlier – the princess believed to be the rest of the colonel's team. A tall greying, serious looking man, a shorter and more plump redhead, and compared to them a pretty young, black-haired bespectacled soldier.

"Hi, I'm Anna of Arendelle. You are here for the ball, right?" – she greeted them sweetly, almost cowering back by the fierce gaze that the blonde gave her, but steeled herself to remain composed.

For a moment the woman – who Anna just realized had the shoulder markings of a general – seemed surprised that she came to meet them out here.

"Major General Olivier Mira Armstrong, Your Royal Highness. On my right is Major Miles, and behind me is the rest of Colonel Mustang's team, Second Lieutenant Breda, Warrant Officer Falman and Sergeant Fuery." – the general introduced themselves coolly, placing her hands on her sword in front of her. Her whole demeanor and stance oozed confidence and a cut throat attitude.

"Please, call me Anna. I'll take you to the Colonel." – Anna smiled and beckoned them to follow her.

"Is it customary for such a high ranking members of the royal family to escort foreign soldiers around?" – Olivier inquired with a sardonic tone as they walked towards the castle.

"I was out in the city anyway attending to other business, it was no trouble." – she explained, really concentrating on her voice so that didn't betray her nervousness.

The woman was really scary. Elsa might have been dubbed as the Snow Queen because of her powers but damn this lady might as well have been the Ice Queen. Their appearances were really similar, but whereas her sister was a warm and loving person under her hard shell that she maintained during her seclusion, Anna could easily imagine the general cutting down babies without a blink of an eye if that served a purpose.

Anna really hoped that they would find the rest of the Amestrians in the Great Hall that was going to be the location of the ball, preparing for the evening's festivities, so she wouldn't have to trudge through the whole castle with the group in her wake.

"And there they are." – Anna almost sighed in relief when she noticed the backs of the two blue-clad soldiers in the room as she opened the door to peek in.

Roy and Riza turned towards the noise, while leaving no time to waste General Armstrong was already marching towards them, not even noticing Havoc by the door, intending to give him a piece of her mind in response to the reports they had been receiving regarding the Arendelle situation.

"Mustang! Are you completely out of your mind? Are you purposefully trying to goad Drachma into breaking our cease of fire?" – she roared in full rage, only to be halted slightly in her tracks a second later as she noticed another figure behind the form of the colonel.

Before the Flame Alchemist could reply with a witty comeback, Elsa stepped around him to see what the cause of the uproar was.

"Is there a problem… General?" – the queen asked once she assessed the insignia on their visitor. In the background she could see Anna shaking her head and hands ferociously, signaling her to not to challenge the woman. The older sister looked right back at her with a questioning gaze.

"Major General Olivier Mira Armstrong, Your Majesty." – the woman who could almost be her twin sister, only a slightly taller, introduced herself unapologetically.

"Elsa is fine. Regarding the political matter I assume is your concern, I already conferred with the ambassadors of both Drachma and Aerugo, having been assured by both that they understand the implications and severity of the actions of their citizens against Arendelle and that Amestris was not in any way involved in my decision to exile them." – Elsa informed her with a similarly confident and no nonsense attitude. This was news to Mustang too but he kept a careful poker-face on. Internally he had to admit though, this was great news, not to mention a smart move on the queen's part.

For a moment they stared at each other, neither of them backing down, icy blue eyes on icy blue.

"Very well." – was all that the general said in response a moment later. Her expression or tone didn't change but despite everything, this development was to her satisfaction. Olivier had taken the new monarch for an incompetent moron based of the things that went on in the last couple of days, albeit now she might be inclined to reconsider, especially that Elsa didn't back down from her challenge.

"We are having a ball in the evening. You are also welcome to stay if you'd like." – the queen offered, appearing unfazed by the earlier confrontation, her hands comfortably interlaced in front of her.

"No. I and the Major are leaving. Some of us actually have a job to do, protecting our country." – Olivier huffed the last sentence in disdain, aimed at the colonel. And with that she turned on her heel, her hand on the hilt of her sword, and stalked off towards the exit, Miles joining her without a word.

As the door closed, Anna and the Amestrian soldiers shifted in nervousness where they stood, unsure if the queen was offended by the brusque general. A moment later a chuckle escaped Elsa.

Everyone sighed in relief but Roy also raised a brow questioningly at the blonde.

"What?" – she asked with a laugh.

"Nothing. You handled the Northern Wall of Briggs pretty well." – Mustang praised with a smirk.

"Is that what she is called? My guess would have been the Ice Queen." – Elsa giggled again, shaking her head in mirthful disbelief as Anna joined her with awe in her eyes.

"Yeah… don't tell that to her face." – Roy snorted in surprise at the queen's candid remark.

"Elsa! For a moment there I thought she was going to stab you to death with that sword of hers." – Anna cried out, hugging her sister for her dear life.

"She wouldn't have." – the queen tried to appease her, lovingly stroking her hair. – "Right?" – she turned to the colonel on a second thought.

"No, probably not." – the Flame Alchemist replied with a frown. – "Probably." – he added a moment later with mock horror, then proceeded to introduce the royalty to the rest of his team.

* * *

After sundown the party was in full swing, a soothing waltz tune being played by the band. Elsa – obviously looking for someone – came up to Mustang who was standing at the side of the dance floor, nursing a whiskey in hand.

"You can sure throw one hell of a ball on such short notice, Your Majesty." – Roy complimented, purposefully using her royal title, which elicited the desired reaction in form of an admonishing glare. Because of his chuckle that followed, Elsa realized the intent of his joke too and just rolled her eyes in response.

"It was lovely meeting your team. You seem like a well-oiled machine, everyone knowing their exact place and purpose to work well together." – the queen remarked, still searching for the object of her affections with her eyes across the room as they made small talk.

"There is one more member you unfortunately won't have the pleasure of meeting. My youngest subordinate, Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. I'm sure he could have offered a lot advice regarding alchemy that even I'm not familiar with…" – Roy trailed off. Well, if she was willing to share regarding human transmutation and the consequences of it. – "Given that he is a child genius in alchemy, he is usually assigned to separate missions related to his research that take him across country, so he wasn't with us when the order came in to investigate up north." – he explained, prompted by Elsa's questioning gaze.

* * *

Somewhere in the middle of nowhere in the Eastern region of Amestris a short blond girl in a red coat sneezed for like the umpteenth time in the last couple of days.

"Are you catching a cold, Sister?" – Al inquired with worry, remembering that incident a few months ago when the older Elric was so ill with a cold that she collapsed in Mustang's office in the Eastern HQ. There wasn't a soul near them for miles to see, so he felt free to refer to his sister as such instead of their usual pretenses.

"Nah, the Bastard must be talking shit about me because of that expense report." – Edeline laughed out as she rubbed her itching nose. – "I think it's time to head to Central tomorrow, there is something I want to check out in the library." – she declared, throwing her suitcase over her shoulder and turning purposefully towards the nearest town to them to find lodgings for the night and to catch a train the next day.

* * *

"It's a shame. I would have loved to meet him. Have you seen Riza by the way?" – Elsa asked finally the question that had been bothering her.

"Not yet." – just as he said that, the door to the hall opened and a stunning blonde in a red dress entered. Roy had to double back to realize that it was his adjutant. Her hair tumbled down in soft waves unto her shoulder, tucked behind her ear by a fancy clip on one side to show off her beautiful earrings. And that gown… for a moment he couldn't take his eyes off of her. Especially her cleavage area that was shown off by a cut out.

Elsa frowned for a moment at that response, especially when Riza caught sight of the colonel and made her way through the crowd to them with a smile on her face. Mustang noticed the blue-eyed woman's displeasure at his gawking and cleared his throat embarrassedly.

"Excuse me. That was awfully rude of me. May I have the next dance to appease you?" – he recovered with a charming smile, offering his hand to the queen with a slight bow.

For a moment Elsa looked at him perplexedly as she reached her hand for him to take, which confusion only deepened when he kissed it again in a similar fashion to the day before. And then it dawned on her. He was blatantly flirting and courting her.

"Roy, I think there has been a misunderstanding between us…" – she began just as Riza arrived by their side, her brow raised at the colonel's gesture. Mustang straightened, looking at Elsa questioningly. – "I'm not interested in men, if you know what I mean." – the queen finished softly, with an apologetic smile.

"Oh." – Roy looked at her, puzzled by that statement at first. Then realization bloomed on his face and you could practically see him mentally facepalming himself. Of course, he wasn't trying to take it anywhere with the queen, but it seemed he had overdone his womanizing ways.

"I tried to warn you, Sir." – Hawkeye chimed in, almost failing to hide her smirk that was tugging at the corner of her lips. - "Sorry I'm late, couldn't get that pesky zipper up."

 _I would have gladly helped with that!_ – Mustang thought, but wouldn't have dared to voice.

"Actually, Riza, I was just looking for you. Care to join me on the balcony?" – Elsa turned to her alluringly, much to Roy's astonishment, who just watched how this would unfold wide-eyed.

"Your Majesty…" – the woman in the burgundy dress hesitantly began, then corrected herself, prompted by her unimpressed glance. – "Elsa… I hope that I didn't lead you on, or misunderstand your request just now, but as you so eloquently put it… I'm not interested in women." – she clarified, something she should have done the moment she noticed her enthrallment, which she hoped very much that the queen wouldn't act on.

"No, it's quite alright. My mistake." – the monarch laughed at her own silliness. – "You two should go on, have a dance. It's a lovely evening, don't let it go to waste." – she graciously urged them.

The Amestrians shared a look, for a moment unsure how to proceed. One dance wouldn't hurt, right? They were in a foreign country after all, only their team to witness, who were fiercely loyal to them. Not to mention that dancing was an innocent activity.

"Lieutenant." – he finally offered his hand to her, which she took.

"Colonel." – she nodded with a serious face. There wasn't a chance in hell she was going to let on how much she enjoyed this moment.

As they went off, Elsa regarded them knowingly. They were so clueless. With a small – somewhat sad and lonely – smile she made her way to her throne and sat down, finding pleasure in watching her people, and especially her sister with Kristoff, dance the night away.

As the song finished a while later Mustang glanced to his adjutant. – "I think I need another drink."

"Make that two, Sir." – Riza called after his retreating back. Roy glanced at her with a raised brow – the lieutenant wasn't one to really drink, it would have meant losing control – but went off anyway to fulfill the request.

Hawkeye sighed heavily as the balcony that was offered earlier caught her eye and decided to get some fresh air. _Get a hold of yourself, Riza._ – she thought to herself as she leaned against the stone railing, watching the merriment inside. A few minutes later the colonel returned with drinks in hand, for a moment searching for her, wondering where she had disappeared to but soon noticed her outside and joined her.

"Happy Birthday." – he said as he handed the little pick-me-up to her, then raising the glass he offered a toast. – "To many more to come."

"Cheers!" – she replied with a fond smile as they clinked their glasses together before taking a sip. He remembered after all.

They turned their backs to the party, overlooking the courtyard of the castle and basking in the moonlight. Truthfully the situation would have been very romantic. If they weren't who they were.

"Do you want to get out of here?" – Mustang asked boldly after they finished their drinks, the alcohol making him a bit braver and less careful.

"God, yes!" – the sniper surprisingly replied. The whole plight was so awkward she didn't really want to face the queen again tonight. Fortunately there was a staircase leading off from the patio directly towards to the exit from the castle, so they were able to sneak off unnoticed.

As it turned out there was more than one celebration in town this evening. Walking around the port they managed to stumble upon a wedding reception. With a conspiratorial wink Mustang led her inside. Hawkeye thanked whatever guidance she had the night of their departure that she packed a suit for her superior and that Breda brought that along with his formal uniform too this morning. And of course the fact that Roy decided to wear that instead of his official formal wear. In this place, a foreign country, without their uniforms they were truly anonymous. Not a Colonel and Lieutenant, just Roy and Riza, childhood friends. Even sweethearts one would might say.


	8. Wait, what?

The sniper woke with a start, not recognizing the place she was in, or how she got there for that matter. She sat up in panic, reaching for her gun – which was wasn’t at her thigh and further worried her – as she looked around in the lavishly decorated, gold and brown themed room. It was huge, equipped with a king size bed and what seemed like a Jacuzzi out on the balcony through the large glass doors. The sudden movement quickly registered in her throbbing head. Right… last night, the wedding reception that they snuck into. They drank way, way too much. Her feet hurt too from all that dancing. Five inch heels were truly not meant to be worn into the wee hours of the morning.

Beside her Roy was snoozing on his back with a light snore. Not an ideal situation to wake up to. Looking down on herself she noted that they were both still fully dressed, only his tie loosened around his neck. Thank heavens for small victories. She would have never lived it down if they had actually had sex with each other.

On the bedside table she spotted her gun holster that she missed just earlier. As she reached for it, something shiny caught her eye on her finger. Her ring finger to be exact. _What the actual hell?_

Hawkeye jumped out of bed and as she did so, rose petals and a bunch of Polaroid pictures scattered onto the floor from the blanket. _No, no, no…_ – she thought with a hand pressed to her mouth, her face paling and a sheen of sweat breaking out on her forehead. Was this…? No, it couldn’t be. However much this might have been her teenage fantasy… Everything they had worked for would be ruined. Because of a wild night out. A momentary lapse in judgement. Well, that was exactly how things usually got derailed.

As she picked one up her worst suspicions came to life. For all intents and purposes they seemed like wedding pictures. Of the two of them. Glancing around the room again the realization hit her. This was very much like a honeymoon suite in some hotel.

 _Okay, think! Don’t lose your head!_ Finding her mental capacities, the lieutenant launched into action, clipping her gun onto her leg, putting on her earrings and bracelet, but not finding her hairpiece. _Dammit, that was expensive._ They must locate it to return to the queen. She made her way over to the other side of the bed to wake the colonel up.

“Sir!” – she called, shaking his shoulder, but he didn’t respond. So she threw the glass of water that was on the bedside table in his face.

“W-what happened?” – Roy sat up startled, spluttering, his fingers ready to snap, but fortunately his gloves weren’t on. They were safely in his coat pocket. Probably.

“We have a problem, Sir.” – Hawkeye stated in a dangerous tone that Mustang knew instantly to pay attention to. Glancing around he too assessed the state and place they were in.

“We didn’t? Did we?” – the alchemist asked in horror.

“If by what we did or didn’t do, you mean did we get married, I bloody hope not!” – Riza exclaimed in a tizzy – something absolutely uncharacteristic of the usually calm and collected sniper – showing her finger with the ring to him.

At first Roy managed to sigh in relief – because that wasn’t what ran through _his_ errant mind earlier much like his adjutant’s but she wasn’t going to admit that – only now realizing that neither of them were undressed. The cocking of the lieutenant’s handgun told him that was absolutely not the response she was looking for. Warily he looked down on his hand and noticed the band around his finger too. For a split second he wished it to be real, whatever they had done, but they had other things to worry about at the moment.

“You don’t remember either, do you Lieutenant?” – he asked after a few seconds, at which Hawkeye defeatedly lowered her gun and sat down on the bed by his side.

“We snuck into a wedding. Lots of alcohol was involved, that’s for sure. And then… I don’t really know.” – she sighed, rubbing her temples. What a nightmare.

Mustang tried thinking really hard, got up from his place and began pacing the room, coming up on the pictures himself. He picked them all up and placed them onto the bed, arranging and rearranging their order, trying to establish a timeline based on them.

“Here is my theory. We somehow managed to convince the priest officiating the nuptials to marry us too. I probably transmuted your clip into the rings, given that it’s missing from the pictures from around halfway through. Then checked into a hotel room.” – Roy gave his assessment, shifting from his couching position by the bed to standing.

“What name did we use at the reception?” – Riza snapped her head up. This might be the one factor that could possibly trip them up if someone investigated a potential fraternization while on mission, that could be – beyond a doubt – traced back to them.

“One way to find out.” – Mustang reached for the phone and dialed the front desk.

“Arriotte Concierge, how may I help you?” – a very pleasant male voice answered. At least they knew now which hotel they were in. Of course, the logos on the little bars of soap in the en suite or the brochures in the bedside table drawer would have been a dead giveaway too but they hadn’t been able to think of that yet. A vicious hangover could hinder even the best of us.

“Hi, I was wondering if we could order room service for breakfast. Maybe with a couple of aspirins on the side, or anything that you could recommend for a hangover.” – the colonel inquired swiftly, while his adjutant facepalmed herself at his brash idea. He really didn’t think this one through. _Please let there be a switch board downstairs that told the receptionist exactly which room they were called from so that she didn’t have to go take a look at the door outside. And let this be a fancy enough hotel that from the room number they would know exactly which guest they were talking to. On second thought, let it not be… those that had this level of service were usually very expensive and there was no way in hell they were putting this on any kind of expense report. If nothing else they were going to find out the info from the bill at check out._

“Most certainly Mr. Hughes.” – as the man uttered the name both soldiers had to fight a snort back, coughing to mask it. – “There is a breakfast menu in your drawer. What would like to order?”

“Eggs and bacon are fine, with orange juice.” – Roy managed to get out.

“Alright, Sir, your room service order of eggs and bacon, orange juice and painkillers for two will be up at room 609 in about half an hour.” – the concierge affirmed the request. Now they knew their room number too. On this particular morning, really every little detail they managed to get without further complications was a win.

In a way, masquerading as his best friend and his wife might have ingenious, both men were black-haired and both women blonde even if different shades of it, but _oh boy_ if this ever got back to Maes.

“Thank you.” – Mustang replied then hung up the phone.

“Sir, you are an idiot.” – Riza emphasized that statement with a forceful exhale of breath she didn’t even realize she was holding until now. – “I’m going to go clean myself up. Until then…” – she paused to take off the ring, now recognizing that it really did come from her hairclip, the three diamonds embedded in it the same in size and form. – “Dispose of the evidence without setting the fire alarm off, and transmute those back into the hairpiece. I’m sure from the pictures you will know how it looked like.” – the sniper threw the ring at him and stalked off to the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind herself.

Roy checked his coat pockets and sure enough his ignition cloth gloves were there, safe and sound. That is until he noticed that one of them – instead of his flame alchemy array – was stitched with a ‘Just married’ sign. He also managed to find a piece of paper that had the metal manipulating transmutation circle drawn up on it that he had used in the evening to make the wedding bands. But that was not all, in his other pocket there was an official looking document – a wedding certificate – folded in half from which another picture slipped out.

It must have been taken before their rouge idea. They were both holding up a glass of champagne for a toast, looking absolutely delighted, clip still in place, no wedding rings. So innocent looking, it might as well had been taken at the royal party. He quickly stuffed it back into his pocket for keeping. For happy memories’ sake.

The flushing of the toilet could be heard through the door so Mustang quickly brought himself out of his reverie, taking his own ring off too and promptly transmuting the hairclip back first, then gathering all the flammable “evidence” – his modified glove too – into a metal bowl that held fruits just a moment ago, right as Riza reemerged.

“Here.” – with a solemn look on his face he handed the hairpiece back to her, which she put on immediately.

“Is that what I think it is?” – she asked, noticing the larger piece of paper, taking it for examination. It held their real names alright. – “Do you believe it’s legitimate?”

“In Amestris? Probably not, especially since we didn’t have our birth certificates with us for the ceremony, nor was the intent of marriage priorly registered with the right authorities, but here, I’m not sure.” – the colonel offered his opinion, but he wasn’t an expert on the matter. Hawkeye just nodded, placing the sheet back along with the rest of the stuff.

Stepping out onto the spacious balcony Roy smirked for a moment.

“Shame we didn’t get to use that, huh?” – he quipped as he took note of the hot tub. Riza slapped him really hard on his shoulder in response.

Placing the bowl down on the tiles he snapped his fingers, incinerating its contents, carefully manipulating the flames so that no pieces of paper or film escaped or remained recognizable. Moments later all that remained was ash that a gush of wind picked up and carried off towards the lake their room overlooked.

“We are never speaking of this night to anyone, ever, not even between each other when we think we are alone, Sir. We can’t jeopardize your goals.” – his adjutant declared as she took the basin and made her way to bathroom to clean it up. Roy just nodded with a severe expression, following her in with his hands stuffed into his pants pockets, glancing back over his shoulder mournfully towards the direction the wind carried off the remains of his transmutation.

While she was busy in the en suite there was a knock at the door and she quickly handed the dish off to Mustang to dry and to place the fruits back in, while with gun in hand she checked who it was through the peephole.

“Room service!” – the female outside announced with a second knock, and sure enough there was a cart in front of her with their food on it.

The sniper signaled Roy to stay out of sight so that they were not seen together (even if that was too little too late, you never knew) and opened the door to a small crack carefully, her gun hidden behind it for now, but ready to be used at a moment’s notice if the situation called for it.

“Where should I put it, ma’am?” – the ginger haired maid asked sweetly.

“Thank you, just leave the cart.” – the lieutenant requested, but given the puzzled expression of the hotel employee, she continued. – “My husband is indecent at the moment.” – she said with a fake bashful smile. The girl just nodded knowingly and left. She could see a large tip in her future for when she returned for the tray.

Riza wheeled it in a moment later, locking the door behind herself, reaching for the aspirin and the orange juice immediately. Her head was absolutely killing her.

“Indecent, _and_ your husband. I could get used to that.” – the colonel joked, only to find himself with a gun trained right between his eyes, Hawkeye never pausing in her drinking.

“What did we just agree to earlier, Sir?” – she inquired in an eerily calm tone when was finished with her juice.

“Right, not mentioning it ever again.” – Roy gulped nervously with his hands in the air.

“Good. Eat up, then we are leaving the hotel separately. I will sneak out through the employee exit in the back with an excuse, while you go down and pay for the room in half an hour and take the front entrance. Have a walk through the city before returning to the palace. My excuse will be that I was taking a stroll on the beach and fell asleep there on one of the benches. On my way back I will make sure to go that way to leave footprints and evidence indicating that. You wandered out to the city from the ball and ended up in a bar. You were bummed by Elsa’s rejection if anyone wonders why.” – she disclosed her plan, her mind already feeling a lot clearer even if the painkillers couldn’t possibly have started working yet.

The sniper quickly ate her portion of the food and left without another word. Mustang just sat there dumbfounded. Don’t get me wrong, he was very grateful for the quick thinking of his adjutant, but the cold calculating way she handled the situation had left him feeling a bit bereft.

Not to mention the 30 000 cenz bill that waited for him at reception. Briefly he toyed with the idea of sending it to the real Mr. Hughes, but thinking better of it just settled it in cash on the spot. There must really have been some kind of heavenly guidance involved, because not only he had his wallet on him, but he withdrew a larger amount from the bank just a day before their orders came in, and hadn’t had a chance to spend it yet. Until now that is.

There was only one small detail neither of them managed to think of while running their contingencies. And that was Madame Christmas and her information – excuse me, more like _spy_ – network.

* * *

Their farewells from Arendelle were rather uneventful – well if you didn't count the moment Hans was dragged onto a ship in cuffs as an event which they certainly didn't even if he was still throwing angry nonsense at them – just as their stop at Briggs. By some miracle the ice palace wasn’t ordered to be torn down, so the Flame Alchemist was content with just leaving it like that. Olivier had already gotten whatever insults she had out of her system the day before, so they managed to get the remainder of their stuff without heated words being thrown at them – well mostly at Mustang – and they were also able to catch the afternoon supply train returning to Central from North City just in time.

Hawkeye was really quiet on the ride, but then again she was never one for unnecessary words, and seemed otherwise her usual, unfazed self. Roy on the other hand… couldn’t help but stare out the window with a deep frown on his face.

“Boss, don’t be so down. I’m sure another queen will come around that you can woo.” – Havoc joked at one point trying to cheer him up with a laugh.

Pretty much his whole team witnessed his less than elegant washout with Elsa, so there wasn’t even a need to drop that excuse as to why he disappeared from the party, only Fuery seemed out of the loop, snapping his head between Jean and Mustang, trying to make sense of that comment. How could he have read a woman so inaccurately? But alas that was not what was bothering him at all. And the phrasing his subordinate used only brought it forefront even more for him. He regarded the members of his team as chess pieces, each of them with a specific role and purpose to an end game. And his ace figure? His queen? Well, that was Riza Hawkeye.

“How’s Marie?” – was all the raven-haired alchemist had to say sardonically to shut his knight up, so that he could brood in silence for the rest of the way, thinking of the Polaroid that now moved to his uniform pocket from his suit jacket.

Their train pulled into Central just before sunset. They had to switch lines here, since this one terminated at the capital city, but just as they disembarked a private came up to them.

“Colonel Mustang? Führer Bradley was informed that you’d be on this train and your presence is requested at his office.” – the young soldier snapped himself into a stiff salute.

“At ease, Private. Do you happen to know what this is about? Our train leaves in two hours, will we make it back by then or should my team make arrangements for us to stay in the city?” – the colonel inquired, wondering what this could be about. Hopefully not a reprimand for how he handled the situation up north.

“I’m sorry, Sir, but I wasn’t read in.” – the private shook his head apologetically.

“Lieutenant, book everyone a hotel room, just in case. I’ll get back to you, once I know more.” – Mustang gave his orders to his adjutant, almost cringing at the hotel part.

* * *

Roy had a sense of déjà vu as he strolled through Central HQ to King Bradley’s office. Being called into the ‘principal’s’ on such short notice again. Only this time on a larger scale, as if his earlier run in with Grumman was only a meeting the dean of the faculty, and now the rector of the university wanted to have a word with him.

Despite the late hour the Führer’s assistant was all smiles as she showed him in.

“Sir!” – he stopped right at the door and saluted the highest ranking man in the country.

“At ease, Mustang.” – Bradley smiled at him jovially, walking around his desk with his hands behind his back. – “Good job with the handling of the border dispute.”

“Thank you, Sir.” – the colonel replied with a bit of relief.

“Your next mission is of similar nature, I’m afraid.” – the Führer handed a case file that he had been holding over to the soldier.

“The Freezing Alchemist? Really? He's here?” – Roy incredulously replied as he noted the name ‘Isaac McDougal’ on the front.

“We have information that he managed to slip into Central a few days ago. That’s why I've summoned you here, Colonel. I need you and your men to smoke him out and bring him in.” – the man with the eye-patch explained as he stood before the huge map of the country on the wall.

“Consider it done, Sir!” – the Flame Alchemist affirmed.

“I’m glad you were in Central at this time, Mustang. It’s good to know I have people here I can count on.” – the Führer assessed with comfort.

“Sir!” – Roy acknowledged the compliment with a little bow of his head, about to leave when Bradley halted him.

“Ah, one last thing. Our rising young star is here as well. You are free to utilize him as well.” – he added with a knowing smirk. _Ed is here? I think I’ll just forewarn the cleanup crew… I see a lot of rubble in our future._ But it seemed the Führer was thinking the same and didn’t mind.

“Forgive me, Führer Bradley, but... just to be clear, are you referring to...?” – Mustang asked just to make sure.

“I am. The Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric.” – the first person of the country stated.

The colonel saluted once more and left with the files in hand to acquire a temporary office for themselves and to give a call to the station to inform his team that they were needed in HQ too. But internally he just wanted to scream: _What is it with freaking ice alchemists???_

Meanwhile he had to round up the little red runt too for a briefing. Unsurprisingly a call to the First Branch of the library took care of that. Ed was way too predictable.

In more ways than one. When she showed up all he got was attitude and Mustang would have bet the bottom line of the hotel bill that she wasn’t listening to half of what he had said about the Freezing Alchemist.

* * *

A mere hour later on a rooftop overlooking the city Edeline sat with Al, clearly disgruntled at the turn of events. She had found some interesting reports in the archives regarding a few incidents that – in her professional opinion, which let’s be honest, meant a bunch in regards to alchemy – involved the Philosopher’s Stone, and she was itching to check it out as soon as possible.

“God damn it! The Colonel's never gonna let us outta here, is he?” – the young alchemist voiced her grievances to her younger brother. _Freaking slave driver…_

“We already bought our tickets for Liore too. Does this mean we're not going?” – the suit of armor at her side asked softly.

“I don’t know, Al... for now, let’s just get this over with quickly, okay?” – Ed sighed, standing up to have a better view of their surroundings and chance at spotting the rouge alchemist or the telltale signs of transmutations.

“Lead the way, Brother.” – Al agreed, defaulting to their cover since there were people walking on the street below them.

_And the rest is history…_

* * *

Omakes

Two days later, after the excitement of Isaac McDougal died down, Roy decided to pay his respects to his aunt. He had a blossoming head cold due to either their trip to the snowy mountain tops or being drenched in ice cold water the day before, and there was nothing better than a few spirits to cure it.

“Madame Christmas.” – he lifted his hat as he sat down by the bar.

“Roy-Boy. Heard you handled two ice alchemists in the span of a week.” – the older woman remarked with her whiskey and cigarette refined voice as she placed his usual order in front of her nephew.

“What can I say? When Central is threatened by an ice age, call the Flame Alchemist to melt some hearts and hopefully the city too.” – Mustang quipped sarcastically with a sour smirk at his whiskey. Chris leaned in closer to him over the counter so that they wouldn’t be overheard and began speaking just as the colonel downed his drink.

“I also heard someone else’s heart got melted too. So when are you going to introduce me to the lucky bride?” – and with that Roy almost choked on the gulp that was in his mouth, spluttering the contents to his side.

“Hey! That’s a fine single malt scotch, don’t waste it.” – the Madame snorted with mirth at his reaction.

* * *

Unbeknownst to Mustang, while he was out, Maes was snooping around in his temporary office. Being an intelligence officer had its perks, sometimes getting information through the grape vine that otherwise would be inaccessible through the official channels. Like hearing of a rumor that he was supposedly vacationing in a hotel’s honeymoon suite in Arendelle with his wife. He wished. But as it so happened he knew one person who might have been inclined to use a fake name if he wanted to hide something. He was right in his office.

In an inner pocket of Roy’s uniform jacket – that he had so carelessly left in his office – the family man stumbled upon something that he wouldn’t have dreamed of in his wildest dreams. A photograph. He knew both people that were depicted on it. And he had never seen either of them happier than in that moment. He quickly made a copy of it and returned the original to its place to avoid suspicion. Hughes could already hear the wedding bells ringing… Oh, the fun he was going to have with this.

If only he knew...

* * *

Arendelle being a small monarchy, a copy of all official documents regarding her subjects came before the queen for signing to make them valid before filing them in their archives. Birth, death… wedding certificates. On this particular evening, working at her desk in her chambers given the late hour, Elsa was looking at a specific document that she couldn’t believe to be in existence with wide-eyes. Especially because the people involved weren’t even Arendelle citizens. _Let’s just put this in the drawer for now._ She had a letter to be written, preferably in code to inquire what the people in question wanted her to do with it.

Something had been bothering her in the last few days. She got up from her place and walked over to her dresser table and picked up a hairpiece. It was slightly different than she remembered, the diamonds just a bit out of place. She wondered... there might be just enough material in it for a skilled alchemist to make two thin wedding bands, the bride's having three diamonds in them.


End file.
